Nation's retailers post mixed sales for November

Thursday, December 1st 2005, 8:42 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Retailers' sales figures for the month of November confirmed that many stores had only a modest start to the holiday shopping season, with sales leveling off as the Thanksgiving weekend wore on.

As merchants released their results Thursday, it was clear that the winners were those stores that heavily discounted over the Thanksgiving weekend, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and mid-priced department stores such as J.C. Penney Co. Inc. One of the biggest disappointments came from upscale Nordstrom Inc., usually a top performer.

``It is a little bit mixed,'' said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm in Swampscott, Mass. ``It looks like a very promotional environment.'' He noted that the steep markdowns at discounters last weekend may have taken away business from some apparel stores, particularly the high-end retailers.

Still, Perkins noted that two-thirds of the retailers that have reported their results so far beat analyst forecasts.

Analysts had been optimistic going into the season because gasoline prices have fallen from their September highs. The latest batch of upbeat economic data and a rebound in consumer confidence in November were encouraging signs that consumers might be more generous this holiday season.

But merchants do face big challenges this season _ although gas prices have fallen, they remain above last year's levels and home heating costs are also expected to be high this winter.

Wal-Mart, which stumbled last holiday season by not offering enough discounts, benefited by offering more markdowns this year. The world's largest retailer posted a same-store sales increase of 4.3 percent, matching estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Same-store sales are those from stores open at least a year, and are considered the best indicator of a retailer's health.

Wal-Mart's total sales increased 9.4 percent.

Still, the discounter said it expects a modest same-store sales growth for December of 2 percent to 4 percent.

Costco reported a 6 percent gain last month in same-store sales. That was down from the 7.9 percent estimate. Costco's total sales rose 9 percent.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. posted sales gain of 1.8 percent, below the 3.5 percent estimate. Total sales rose 5.3 percent.

ShopKo Stores Inc. suffered a 3.9 percent same-store sales decline, worse than the 1.0 percent forecast. Total sales fell 4.7 percent.

Nordstrom's same-store sales rose 2.8 percent, well off the 4.6 percent analysts expected. Total sales rose 5.8 percent.

Federated Department Stores Inc., whose acquisition of May Department Stores Co. closed in August, suffered a 3.4 percent same-store sales decline, well off the 0.8 percent gain analysts forecast. Total sales rose 89.3 percent.

Same-store sales include only Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations. Total sales include the stores acquired from May.

``Although business was strong over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, we were disappointed with our sales earlier in November,'' said Terry J. Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

J.C. Penney had a same-store sales gain of 3.6 percent in its department store group, better than the 1.9 percent estimate. Total sales rose 9.3 percent.

Gap Inc. posted a 4 percent decrease in same-store sales, though the results were better than the 5.1 percent drop analysts forecast. Total sales rose were unchanged from a year ago.

Limited Brands Inc. posted a 5 percent gain in same-store sales, better than the 2 percent forecast. Total sales rose 7 percent.

Bebe Stores Inc. had a 4.2 percent gain, just under the 4.3 percent forecast. Total sales rose 13.2 percent.