Target cuts comp outlook for September

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/25/2007 12:20:00 PM

Minneapolis – Back-to-school may not be so cool, judging from the adjustment made late yesterday by Target to its monthly comparable-store sales projection.

The 1,537-unit upscale discounter now expects September comps to increase 1.5% to 2.5%. Earlier, it had projected a comp gain for the month in the 4% to 6% range.

Target said the adjustment is “primarily attributable to weaker guest traffic in September vs. our year-to-date trend.”

The retailer noted, “Sales results in Florida and the Northeast are somewhat weaker than rest of the country.”

The projection is based on actual sales at Target stores in the first three weeks of September plus the outlook for the remaining two weeks; the company’s five-week retail month runs from Sunday, Sept. 2 through Saturday, Oct. 6. Actual results will be reported on Thursday, Oct. 11.