Hurricane Sandy tempered November sales for retailers, but
resultant damage, electric outages and gas shortages, could not
overcome a subsequent burst of buying that included holiday
purchasing at the end of the month.
Retailers lost days of business as their stores in the
Northeast--the most populous part of the country-- were closed and
saw little business in the days after as residents tried to recover
from the storm's slam. But early reports Thursday from retailers
indicate that while some felt Sandy's wrath, they still had a good
month in general.
"It was a strange month," said Barbara Kahn, director of the Jay
Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton
School. "We had a difficult start to November, which dampened
people's mood, but they appear to have more than compensated as the
month progressed. This is demonstrated by the generally positive
numbers we're seeing for the month."
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), which has a good amount of stores
in the Northeast, but also has recovery supplies, posted a gain of
6% in U.S. sales minus gasoline. Analysts expected 4.8%. The
retailer said its sales for the month were hurt by half a% because
of the storm.
Best performing areas for Costco included Texas, the Southeast,
the Midwest, and San Diego. Food and sundries were solid
performers, with particular strength in candy and deli. In Costco's
hardlines category, hardware, consumer electronics and health and
beauty did well.
Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) regained some of its momentum after
coming up short of analysts' expectations in October, posting a 5%
rise in same-store sales, when 3.1% was expected. The retailer's
comparable sales growth for its Victoria's Secret chain was 4%,
beating consensus estimates for a 3% gain. Bath & Body Works
saw a 6% increase in same-store sales--besting expectations for a
3.9% rise--driven by the performance of its signature collection,
home fragrance and soap and sanitizer businesses. The company said
Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works had record setting
Thanksgiving weekends, though superstorm Sandy negatively impacted
the company's total November comparable sales by about 1% or
2%.
A 3.3% rise for November is expected by the 17 retailers that
report same-store sales, or sales at stores open more than a year,
according to analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters. The figure does
not include drug stores. The results are through Saturday, which is
when retailers closed their books for November and compare with a
3.5% gain a year ago.
Total Thanksgiving weekend spending reached an estimated $59.1
billion, a 13% increase from a year ago, according to the National
Retail Federation. The number covers Thursday, Black Friday,
Saturday and planned spending on Sunday. Merchants with a strong
Web presence were winners. Online spending from Thanksgiving
through Saturday was $2.4 billion, according to the data-analysis
firm comScore Inc. While the sales were stout, retailers sold much
of their merchandise at steep discounts, raising questions about
how their gross margins will fare when they report fourth-quarter
results.
Smaller-town department-store Stage Stores Inc. (SSI) saw
same-store sales jump 13% in November, when analysts were expecting
3%. Growth last week topped 20%, said CEO Michael Glazer, adding,
"Our strategy worked well as we achieved higher sales while
maintaining our merchandise margin rate." The Northeast was not
pointed out as a strong region, though, with Stage Stores saying
the Midwest, South Central and Southwest regions outperformed.
Merchandise categories that posted comparable store sales gains
ahead of the company average were cosmetics, footwear, home and
gifts, junior sportswear and petites.
Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) marked a 5.4% drop in comparable-store
sales, when a 6.8% decline was expected. The teen retailer said
superstorm Sandy negatively impacted comparable-store sales for the
month by about 1%.
The teen retailer is shifting its merchandise mix to be more
trendy, and says it is making progress. "We are seeing encouraging
signs of regaining our long-time customers and believe we will
continue to do so as we make further enhancements to our
merchandise assortments to align with their fashion tastes," the
company said in a statement.
November same-store sales at fellow teen-apparel retailer Buckle
Inc. (BKE) fell 0.1% compared to the year-ago period, while an
increase of 2% was expected. Still, average transaction value rose
3%. Men's total sales were up 5%, with strength in denim, knit
shirts, sweaters, accessories and footwear. But overall prices were
down 2%. Women's total sales, meanwhile, rose 0.5% with average
prices up 4.5% amid strength in woven tops, active apparel and
footwear.
--Anna Prior contributed to this article
Write to Karen Talley at karen.talley@dowjones.com
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