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Published January 8, 2009 at 3:51 PM
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 Yes, it was a dismal 2008 holiday shopping season, and we will get to see the outcome Thursday. Most of the nation's retailers are expected to release reports of same-store sales at stores open over a year, which will indicate overall performance strategy going forward. Since sales in November and December account for 25% to 40% of many retailers' annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation, these results will likely expose the impact of the credit crisis on consumer confidence and reflect the overall state of the economy as the recession likely limited holiday
spending and sent jobless claims to a 26-year high.
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Retailers are expected to report that sales at stores open at least a year declined by 1.1% in December, with total December sales falling an
average of 6.3%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
However, the actual results may also provide a sneak peek of those
retailers that could wind up filing for bankruptcy by the end of the
year. Here's a summary of retail announcements in the news. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 1.7% gain in same-store sales excluding fuel in December. However, that was less than the 2.8% increase expected by analysts. The retailer was hurt by a drop in sales at its Sam's Club division and its international stores.
- Macy's Inc. reported total sales of $4.397 billion, which is down 4%. Same-store sales for the quarter
were down 7.5%. Due to the drop in sales, Macy's is closing 11 stores, saving $65 million. The closing stores employ 960 people and are located in Los Angeles; Colorado Springs, Colo.;
Westminster, Colo.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Hawaii;
Indianapolis; Brooklyn Center, Minn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Natrona Heights,
Pa.; West Mifflin, Pa.; and Nashville.
- Target Corp. reported that its net retail sales increased 0.2% to $9.28 billion from $9.262 billion. However, December comparable-store sales declined 4.1%.
- BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. reported that total sales for December 2008 increased by 3.2% to
$1.06 billion from $1.03 billion in December 2007. Sales increased by 1.6% for the month of December including a negative impact from sales of gasoline of 4.3%.
Analysts, on average, expected growth of 3.1%, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.
- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 4% decrease in sales at stores open with net sales of $7.40 billion for the month of December. That's a decrease of 2% from
$7.55 billion from last year.
- Sears Holdings Corp. announced that December sales had dropped 7.3%. The company earned over $2.5 billion in Adjusted Ebitda in 2008 and
$1.6 billion in cash. Due to the drop in sales, the company is reorganizing. "We have recently undertaken a reorganization of the
internal workings of Sears Holdings. The idea behind the reorganization is to
drive decision-making down into the organization and to harness free-market
forces to convert a centrally planned company into a more decentralized
company," wrote chairman Eddie Lampert on Sears Web site.
- Limited Brands, Inc.
reported a comparable store sales decrease of 10%. Net sales
were $8.451 billion compared to net sales of $9.461 billion last year.
- Gap reported that sales fell 14%, with a 6% decrease in December. Analysts predicted a decline of 9.3%.
- Toys R Us reported a comparable store sales increase of 1.9%, but the company's combined November and December sales at its domestic stores fell 3.4%.
- American Eagle Outfitters Inc. today announced that total
sales for the quarter decreased 10% to $493.5
million, compared to $546.1 million last year. Comparable store sales decreased 17% for the month.
Check out Reuters for a full list of all of the retailers reports and analysts expectations.- Maria Woehr
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