Thursday, certain luxury and apparel retailers, including American Eagle Outfitters, Dillard's and Nordstrom, registered a decline in June comparable sales, largely dampened by cool weather that impacted the clothing retailers' summer merchandise.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.3% in May before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. On a seasonally adjusted basis, consumer price index rose 0.1% in May after being unchanged in April. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1% in May, while index for apparel declined 2%. U.S. gasoline prices averaged $2.612 per gallon during the week ended July 6, lower than the previous year.
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO), a clothing and personal care products retailer, posted a 11% decline in comparable store sales for the month of June 2009, unchanged from last year's level. Total sales for the month dropped 4% to $246.1 million from the previous year's sales of $255.9 million. The company noted that the monthly sales were on the low end of management's expectations, due primarily to weak store traffic, particularly during the latter part of the month.
Year-to-date sales fell 4% to $1.05 billion from $1.096 billion fin the same period of last year, with 10% decrease in comparable store sales.
Further, American Eagle Outfitters reiterated its second-quarter earnings guidance of $0.12 - $0.15 per share. This guidance excludes the possibility of additional impairments or losses related to investment securities.
Fashion apparel and home furnishing retailer Dillard's Inc. (DDS) posted merchandise sales of $497.2 million for the five weeks ended July 4, 2009, a decline of 16%, compared to $593.3 million a year ago, with comparable stores sales decreasing 14%.
Dillard's sales for the 22-week period totaled $2.34 billion, down 15% from $2.77 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Sales in comparable stores dropped 13% for the 22 weeks.
Specialty retailer Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) witnessed a 11.1% downturn in June 2009 comparable store sales, compared to a 2.9% decline last year. The company's total net sales fell 9.3% to $51.6 million.
Clothing retailer American Apparel Inc. (APP) said its comparable store sales for June decreased 13%, versus a 16% rise in the year-earlier period. Second-quarter comparable store sales dropped 10%, compared to an increase of 23% witnessed in the same period of the previous year.
Fashion merchandiser Stein Mart Inc. (SMRT) posted an 8.0% drop in comparable store sales for June 2009, and 11.3% decline in total sales that totaled $108.8 million, versus $122.6 million in the comparable period of the previous year. Stein Mart's quarter-to-date sales fell 7.3% to $214.2 million last year's sales of $231.0 million, with comparable store sales decrease of 4.2%.
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), a fashion specialty retailer, posted preliminary retail sales of $686 million for the month of June, a decrease of 6.2%, compared to $731 million in the same period of last year. Same-store sales for the month fell 10.0%.
Nordstrom's preliminary year-to-date retail sales dropped 8.4% to $3.05 billion from $3.33 billion for the same period in fiscal 2008. Year-to-date same-store sales declined 12.5%.
Women's fashion apparel retailer The Cato Corp. (CTR) generated June 2009 sales of $86.8 million, down 2% from the previous year's sales of $88.3 million, with same-store sales decrease of 3%.
Sales for the twenty-two weeks ended July 4, 2009 were $403.0 million, up 2% from$394.6 million prior year. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 1%. In addition, Cato noted that it continues to project second-quarter earnings between $0.48 and $0.54 per share.
As far as the department store chains are concerned, Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (BONT) posted comparable store sales decline of 8.0% for the month of June. Total sales for the five weeks decreased 7.5% to $241.5 million from $261.2 million in the same period of last year.
Year-to-date, comparable store sales fell 9.1% and total sales dropped 8.6% to $1.08 billion from $1.18 billion in the year-ago period.
Bon-Ton Stores noted that its best performing businesses were soft home, accessories, cosmetics and children's, and its weakest performing businesses were furniture, ladies' sportswear, dresses and juniors.
Another company in this segment, Kohl's Corp. (KSS) reported 5.6% drop in comparable store sales, and a 1.5% decrease in total sales for the month of June 2009 that totaled $1.47 billion, compared to $1.49 billion posted a year earlier. The company noted that its apparel businesses were affected by sluggish demand in seasonal categories such as shorts, polos, and swimwear. Year-to-Date comparable store sales descended 3.8%, while totaled sales edged up 0.7% to $6.37 billion from $6.32 billion last year.
AEO is currently trading at 12.83, down 27 cents or 2.06%, while KSS trades at $43.82, up 47 cents or 1.08% and JWN at $19.76, up 80 cents or 4.22%.
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