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Retailers thank holiday
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December 4, 1997: 2:14 p.m. ET
November same-store sales helped by strong Thanksgiving weekend
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Retailers can thank the last three days of November for helping save a month filled with unenthusiastic shoppers.
Retail chains on Friday began issuing their same-store sales figures for last month. Same- store sales measure results from stores that have been open for more than one year, discounting those which closed during the month or ones recently opened, which tend to have higher sales.
"Thanksgiving weekend was strong and that lifted a lot of the retailers' results," said Steve Kernkraut, retail analyst at Bear Stearns. "I think they have momentum going into the holiday season."
One of the clear winners for the month was Gap Inc. (GPS), a specialty clothing retailer which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. It reported sales of $622 million for November, up 7 percent from the same month in 1996.
Others had more modest November results, including The Limited Inc.(LTD), whose brands include Express, Lerner New York and Lane Bryant. It said its sales rose 2 percent. Talbots (TLB) same-store sales rose 2.5 percent.
You don't have to have big customers to have big sales. Gymboree (GYMB), which makes and sells products geared toward children age seven and under, saw its sales leap 10 percent in November.
Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores (CC) announced same-store sales fell 3 percent during the month but that wasn't the worst of it.
The company said third-quarter sales at CarMax, the auto chain in which it holds an 80 percent stake, were below expectations and will result in both a higher-than-expected loss for the quarter and the fiscal year on Circuit City's bottom line.
In the discount sector, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the country's largest retailer, had total sales of $10.6 billion and same store sales 6.1 percent higher than November of 1997.
K-Mart (KM) entered in with a strong showing as well, with sales 5.4 percent higher than last November on total sales of $2.76 billion.
The news out of their more venerable competitors was not as good. At J.C. Penney (JCP), same-store sales fell 3.1 percent for the month.
Automotive sales, which were down 0.6 percent, held back overall results at Sears (S).
"Auto stores continued to be negatively affected by the conversion of our auto parts business to the Parts America format, and tire and battery sales were down," said CEO Arthur C. Martinez.
"Excluding the parts business, domestic comparable store revenues would have been flat."
The sales picture at department stores was much less mixed. Dayton Hudson Corp. (DH) sales rose 5.2 percent while Ames Department Stores Inc. (AMES), the nation's sixth largest chain, had sales 6.6 percent higher.
Federated Department Stores (FD), whose holdings include Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Rich's and Stern's, had a 2 percent increase over last November.
-- by staff writer Randy Schultz
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