Und dann erst noch das Weihnachtsgeschäft ..... das wird noch krasser werden.
Article published July 10, 2009
Same-store sales drop worse than expected
June rate down 5.1%;all retail types suffering
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Rain and escalating job worries dampened shoppers’ appetite for summer staples like shorts and dresses more than expected in June, increasing concerns about the back-to-school shopping season.
Retailers in all sectors reported weak same-store sales yesterday, but mall-based clothing stores suffered the most in June, compared with a year earlier, Some discounters scraped by.
Even low-priced Costco Wholesale Corp. saw same-store sales decline from last year, when federal stimulus checks helped business. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. no longer reports same-store sales each month.
Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year. They are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health.
“Consumers are under severe pressure on the job front, so discretionary spending is just not happening,” said Ken Perkins, president of the retail consulting firm Retail Metrics LLC.
“This is not setting up well for the back-to-school season,” Mr. Perkins said.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs same-store sales tally for June was down 5.1 percent from June, 2008. That was worse than the latest forecast, which was for a 4.5 percent decline. The results were slightly below the sluggish average pace of 4.4 percent seen since February, the start of retailers’ fiscal year.
A factor depressing results was the weather, particularly with heavy rains out West. But financial worries are clearly discouraging shoppers.
Merchants are relying more now on shoppers’ paychecks to fuel purchases because consumers’ two other key sources of funding — credit cards and home equity loans — have shrunk. But, seeing their earnings dwindle, shoppers are continuing to seek 70 percent discounts.
Job worries caused consumer confidence, as measured by the nonprofit Conference Board, to drop in June. That reversed a three-month upward trend fueled by a stock market rally that also is fizzling.
Among the biggest disappointments in yesterday’s same-store sales reports were teen stalwart Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Limited Brands Inc., which owns Victoria’s Secret.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has benefited from the recession as shoppers scour for deals and focus on necessities. The Bentonville, Ark., company stopped releasing monthly data after its report for April.
Discounter Target Corp., which has been stumbling because of its reliance on nonessentials like trendy jeans and towels, reported a 6.2 percent decline in same-store sales for June. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 5.6 percent drop at the Minneapolis-based retailer.
Costco said yesterday that its June same-store sales dropped6 percent, which met Wall Street’s expectations. The company said in a recorded message that its strongest categories included food products.
Among department stores, JC Penney Co. posted an 8.2 percent drop in same-store sales but beat Wall Street’s estimate of a 9.3 percent decline. The chain also narrowed its loss estimate for the second quarter. Macy’s Inc.’s 8.9 percent drop was a slightly smaller drop than analysts expected.
Limited Brands’ 12 percent drop was worse than the 7.9 percent decline analysts had expected. Gap Inc. posted a 10 percent decline in same-store sales, more severe than the expected 8.6 percent drop.
Many teen stores had a challenging month, raising concerns about how much parents will spend on back-to-school merchandise. Abercrombie & Fitch’s same-store sales fell 32 percent, even more than the 26.6 percent decrease Wall Street projected.