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Retailers lift outlook
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October 11, 2001: 9:17 a.m. ET
Sears, Talbots, Pier 1 say they should meet or beat targets despite sales drops.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - A number of major retailers raised their earnings guidance Thursday despite reporting weaker September sales in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.
Sears Roebuck & Co. (S: Research, Estimates), the nation's No. 2 retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: Research, Estimates), said it will post an earnings per share rise to 80 cents for its fiscal third quarter, ended Sept. 29, toping both the 77 cent consensus analyst estimate and the 76 cents it earned a year earlier.
"As in the second quarter, we have been able to weather the difficult top-line environment by effectively managing our retail operating expenses and inventories. We are also pleased to have achieved continued gross margin expansion in the third quarter," CEO Alan Lacy said.
Sales in the five weeks ended Sept. 29 fell 6.7 percent at Sears' U.S. stores open at least a year, a closely watched retail measure known as same-store sales. Overall domestic sales fell 6.0 percent in the period to $2.5 billion. Most major retailers except Wal-Mart posted lower same-store sales in September.
Home goods retailer Pier 1 Imports (PIR: Research, Estimates) and clothing retailer Talbots Inc. (TLB: Research, Estimates) said Thursday they expect to be at or above earnings expectations for their third and fourth fiscal quarters despite a drop in September sales at stores open at least a year.
Pier One said it expects earnings per share of 17 to 19 cents in its fiscal third quarter, ending in November, and between 33 and 37 cents a share in its fourth quarter, which ends in February. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call forecast 17 cents a share in the third quarter and 33 cents a share in the fourth.
Talbots said it expects to earn at least 57 cents a share in the third quarter, which ends this month. That's 1 cent above current forecasts, and 3 cents better than year-earlier results. It sees fourth-quarter EPS of 52 to 54 cents, ahead of the First Call forecast of 52 cents and the 51 cents it earned a year earlier.
Pier One said sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched retail measure known as same-store sales, fell 0.8 percent in the five-week period ended Oct. 6. Overall sales rose 4.9% to $130.6 million.
Talbots same-store sales fell 8.3 percent for the five weeks while overall sales fell 3 percent to $174.7 million. 
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