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Most retailers notch gains
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November 30, 2000: 5:24 p.m. ET
AnnTaylor hit by November sales drop; Abercrombie & Fitch falls on profit warning
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Most of the biggest U.S. retailers reported a gain in November sales Thursday -- including the all-important Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which marks the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season and is traditionally one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
But specialty retailers, which many analysts expected to post a strong showing in the season, reported mixed results.
AnnTaylor (ANN: Research, Estimates) Stores Inc. shares ended $8.69 lower to $20.75 Thursday after reporting a nearly 3 percent drop in comparable-store sales in November. The women's apparel retailer took a hit Tuesday after Robertson Stephens analyst, Janet Kloppenburg, downgraded the stock and lowered her fourth-quarter earnings estimate for the company.
Youth-oriented apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF: Research, Estimates) tumbled $7.31, more than 25 percent, to $20.88 after it reported disappointing November sales, and forecast fourth-quarter earnings below Wall Street estimates.
 Other names such as The Sharper Image (SHRP: Research, Estimates) gained $1.06 to $16.6, while Talbot's (TLB: Research, Estimates) rose $4.38 to $15.81.
Analysts said a Fed-induced economic slowdown has forced retailers to be much more promotional this holiday season, which is good for consumers, but bad for retailers' profitability because discount prices erode gross margins.
Promotional activity over the Thanksgiving holiday drove sales gains at the big chains such as Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, Sears, Kmart and Target, which all reported increased sales for the month. Dillard's, however, posted a decrease.
"Basically, if you promoted heavily during the Thanksgiving weekend, you did well," said Michael Exstein, a retail analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. "If you're willing to be aggressive on price and promotion, you can attract traffic into the stores."
Analysts like Exstein are concerned that the season will not be as strong compared with the breakneck spending sprees of last year.
"It's going to shape up to be a real messy Christmas season," Steve Kernkraut, a retail analyst with Bear Stearns told CNNfn's Before Hours Thursday. "It's very hard to read. Some companies had a very strong Thanksgiving weekend, others weak." (307KB WAV)(307KB AIFF)
Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, see gains
Wal-Mart, the world's No. 1 retailer, said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched figure known as same-store sales, grew 4.4 percent in November compared with the previous November.
 The gain, which includes sales at the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain's Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, is below the 5.6 percent growth it reported in the same period a year ago.
Click here for CNNfn.com's Special Report: Shopping for the Holidays
Wal-Mart (WMT: Research, Estimates) shares rose 31 cents to $52.19 in Thursday trading.
Sears Roebuck & Co. (S: Research, Estimates) said domestic same-store sales increased 2.8 percent compared with a 5.9 percent increase for the same period in 1999. Double-digit growth in appliances, sporting goods and electronics sales helped bring a nearly 4 percent increase in overall sales.
 Sears shares lost 34 cents to $32.44 at the close of trading Thursday.
Kmart (KM: Research, Estimates) said same-store sales increased 3.3 percent compared with a 1.4 percent increase in 1999. Chief Executive Chuck Conaway said the company plans to use the holiday season to clear out non-strategic inventory as it works to rebound from sagging earnings.
Kmart shares lost 44 cents to $5.50.
Target Corp. (TGT: Research, Estimates) said same-store sales increased 5.4 percent for the month, versus a 1.8 percent increase a year ago.
Shares of Target dipped 6 cents to $30.06 Thursday.
J.C. Penney said same-store sales edged up 0.7 percent in November compared with an 8.7 percent decline a year earlier.
 The Plano, Texas-based chain said same-store sales at its ailing Eckerd Drug Store division increased 8.4 percent compared with a 14.9 percent increase a year ago, driven by pharmacy sales. However, sales of other items declined 2.5 percent.
Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) ended unchanged Thursday at $9.63.
Dillard's (DDS: Research, Estimates) said its November same-store sales decreased 1 percent as total sales fell to $636 million from $647.3 million a year earlier.
The company's shares were down 44 cents to 11. 
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