March ends like lion with same-store drops

By David Gill -- Home Textiles Today, 4/16/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK — In reporting Ames' sales results for the month of February, chairman and ceo Joe Ettore spoke of the necessity to meet what he called "the March challenge." Judging from Ames' March results, the chain failed — in a big way — to meet its boss' call to arms.

But Ames was not alone.

The major U.S. retail chains went into March like a lamb and came out like a diseased snail. Among the chains tracked by Home Textiles Today in its monthly chain sales report, 13 (or about half) posted same-store sales declines last month.

Ames was the top loser in the comp-store race, reporting a 13.4 percent plummet in its same store numbers. Dillard's was a close second, toppling out of March with 13 percent drop in comp-store checkouts.

Ettore said, "March sales were negatively affected by poor weather. It is a fact we have long known that our core customer shops by the weather and not by the calendar.

"We estimate that the impact of heavy snowstorms on total sales in our operating areas in March was approximately $24.5 million. Had it not been for that impact, our comps would have been improved by 6.7 percent," he continued.

Only four chains in Home Textiles Today's listing managed to beat the 5 percent mark in same-store sales gains in March. Topping this list was Dollar General with a 6.5 percent increase, followed by ShopKo stores (up 6.1 percent), Gottschalks (a 5.3 percent increase) and May Co. (up 5.2 percent).

Along with these generally sour figures, the month of March had a topsy-turvy quality to it. JCPenney stores actually recorded a same-store gain last month, boosting its number by 2.7 percent. The company attributed its gain to strong sales in home furnishings, women's apparel and women's accessories.

In the process, the department store giant (which has posted mostly red comp-store figures for several years) actually beat Kohl's, a consistent champion in this listing. Kohl's, in fact, posted its first same-store loss in many years, shedding 1.9 percent from its comp-store results last month.

Larry Montgomery, Kohl's ceo, offered this spin on what was a shocking result for the chain: "While we are disappointed with March sales, the spring buying period spans both March and April. We have always looked at these two months combined. We feel very good about our spring merchandise assortment."

All three of the national mass-merchant chains finished March in the black in same-store sales, but the gains were unspectacular. Target led the mass merchants with a 3.4 percent pickup, followed by Wal-Mart's gain of 3.3 percent and Kmart's 1 percent increase.

JCPenney's spurt of same-store prosperity contrasted with Sears' March result, a 5.3 percent comp-store drop. "March retail sales fell below expectations, with the slowing economy and colder than anticipated weather having an impact on both our hardlines and softlines businesses," said Sears' chairman and ceo, Alan Lacy.

May Co.'s strong March was easily better than that of its closest competition, Federated Department Stores. The latter limped saw a 3.2 percent decline in its comp-store sales.

"We are very disappointed with March sales," said James Zimmerman, Federated's chairman and ceo. "Weather was a factor in many parts of the country, but we think deteriorating consumer confidence in the wake of current economic uncertainty is also having a significant impact on our sales."

MARCH SALES FOR MAJOR RETAILERS - Period ending 4/7/01^a(sales in $000s)

COMPANY	2001 SALES	2000 SALES	TOTAL % CHANGE	SAME STORE % CHANGE
Ames	$304.1	$346.3	-12.2	-13.4
Costcob	3,080.0	2,830.0	8.8	3.0
Dillards	720.4	826.0	-12.8	-13.0
Dollar Generalc	461.3	384.0	20.1	6.5
Elder-Beerman	54.3	53.7	1.1	-0.8
Family Dollar	326.0	291.5	11.8	1.0
Federated	1,431.0	1,520.0	-5.9	NA
Dept. stores	1,317.0	1,348.0	-2.3	-3.2
Gottschalks	64.1	49.1	30.5	5.3
JCPenney	2,872.0	2,877.0	-0.2	NA
Dept. stores	1,212.0	1,196.0	1.3	2.7
Catalog	355.0	396.0	-10.4	NA
Kmartd	3,132.0	3,156.0	-0.8	1.0
Kohls	609.0	538.6	13.1	-1.9
May Co.e	1,237.3	1,119.8	10.5	5.2
Pier 1 Imports	122.9	113.6	8.2	2.5
Ross Stores	272.0	261.0	4.2	-3.0
Saks Inc.	546.5	589.8	-7.3	-6.9
Dept. stores	306.1	330.6	-7.4	-4.4
Sears U.S. sales	2,563.4	2,701.0	-5.1	-5.3
ShopKo	295.9	272.3	8.7	3.1
ShopKo stores	227.3	NA	7.7	6.1
Pamida	68.6	NA	11.8	-7.6
Target Corp.	3,205.0	2,956.0	8.4	2.4
Target	2,588.0	NA	11.3	3.4
Mervyns	330.0	NA	-0.9	-0.1
Marshall Fields	262.0	NA	-3.3	-3.3
TJX	890.0	835.0	6.6	-1.0
Value City	207.1	183.1	13.1	-5.4
Value City stores	137.1	138.6	-1.1	-6.5
Wal-Martc	18,770.0	16,868.0	11.3	3.5
Wal-Mart stores	NA	NA	NA	3.3
Sams Club	2,587.0	2,431.0	6.4	4.1
Nine weeks to date
Ames	533.9	573.9	-7.0	-10.1
Costcob	NA	NA	NA	NA
Dillards	1,344.2	1,468.1	-8.4	-8.0
Dollar Generalc	828.5	691.2	19.9	5.7
Elder-Beerman	94.0	92.8	1.3	-0.2
Family Dollar	NA	NA	NA	NA
Federated	2,579.0	2,732.0	-5.6	NA
Dept. stores	2,396.0	2,432.0	-1.5	-2.5
Gottschalks	109.3	83.2	31.4	6.2
JCPenney	5,088.0	5,113.0	-0.5	NA
Dept. stores	2,068.0	2,088.0	-1.0	0.5
Catalog	628.0	704.0	-10.8	NA
Kmartd	5,579.0	5,569.0	0.2	1.9
Kohls	943.5	799.0	18.1	1.3
May Co.e	2,174.3	2,028.8	7.2	2.4
Pier 1 Imports	NA	NA	NA	NA
Ross Stores	453.0	437.0	3.7	-3.0
Saks Inc.	960.7	1,004.2	-4.3	-4.5
Dept. stores	545.1	577.5	-5.6	-4.0
Sears U.S. sales	4,530.8	4,697.6	-3.6	-3.9
ShopKo	543.6	NA	10.3	4.6
ShopKo stores	419.6	NA	9.6	8.0
Pamida	124.0	NA	12.4	-7.6
Target Corp.	5,565.0	NA	8.0	2.0
Target	4,516.0	NA	11.0	3.2
Mervyns	565.0	NA	-2.3	-1.6
Marshall Fields	438.0	NA	-3.9	-3.9
TJX	1,537.0	1,440.0	6.7	-1.0
Value City	347.0	289.3	19.9	-5.9
Value City stores	230.1	224.1	2.7	-7.1
Wal-Martc	33,655.0	30,184.0	11.5	3.9
Wal-Mart stores	NA	NA	NA	3.6
Sams Club	4,578.0	4,269.0	7.2	4.8

a: Reporting periods vary from store to store. Total store sales reflect the fact that fiscal year 2000 was a 53-week year, as opposed to fiscal 1999, which was 52 weeks.

b: For the period ending April 8.

c: For the period ending April 6.

d: For the period ending April 4.

e: Excludes sales from stores that have been closed and not replaced.

TOP 3

STORE	% CHG.
Dollar General	6.5%
ShopKo Stores	6.1
Gottschalks	5.3

BOTTOM 3

STORE	% CHG.
Ames	-13.4
Dillards	-13.0
Pamida	-7.6