More Positives Than Negatives in July

Cecile Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 8/24/2011 4:57:07 AM

NEW YORK - Dillard's and Duckwall-Alco continued climbing the comp-sales ranks in July while some that typically dominate, like Kohl's, took a back seat over the four-week period.
     Although Dillard's was the one of the biggest gainers with comps up 6.0%, home was not a sales driver last month. In fact, Dillard's said sales in the home and furniture category were significantly below trend.
     However, Duckwall-Alco cited domestics as among several categories that contributed to its 10.6% same-store sales gain.
     "Six consecutive months of positive sales performance have given Duckwall-Alco a solid growth trend for the first half of this fiscal year. This achievement is a result of improved merchandise assortments, stronger value proposition, and better customer service," said Rich Wilson, president and ceo. "Sales growth was balanced across many categories in the store, including apparel, consumables, electronics, housewares, domestics and outdoor furniture."
     Ross Stores turned in better-than-expected July and second-quarter sales with monthly comp up 5.0%, said Michael Balmuth, vice chairman and ceo.
     "Our ability to capitalize on our strong position as an off-price retailer by delivering a wide array of name brand bargains to today's value-focused customers continues to drive healthy traffic to our stores," added Balmuth.
     Also once again exceeding expectations in July was Macy's, which attributed its 6.7% comp increase to strong store and online sales at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
     "This is especially encouraging given the comparison to our robust same-store sales performance in July and second quarter last year," said Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and ceo.
     Online sales for macys.com and bloomingdales.com combined were up 36.7% in July and 39.2% in the first half of 2011. The company's online sales positively affected its same-store sales by 1.3 percentage points in the year to date.
     Target's July sales were "at the high end of our expected range," said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and ceo. The boost was driven by commodity while the home business was down slightly overall, with housewares performing the best within the category and decorative home the softest.
     Steinhafel noted, "Back-to-school sales are off to a solid start, contributing to our confidence in the strategies we have in place."
     The TJX Companies said its 4% consolidated comparable store sales increase in July exceeded expectations.
     Same-store sales were up 5.0% in The Marmaxx Group, its largest division, where comparable store sales increased 5% in July. HomeGoods' comps were up 3.0% in July, over a 6.0% comp increase in the same period last year.
     In its Canadian division, which includes Winners and HomeSense, home outperformed apparel last month.
     Looking ahead, ceo Carol Meyrowitz said, "We are in an excellent position entering the third quarter, with great back-to-school apparel and dorm room assortments for our customers at great values. The marketplace is full of quality product, and we will be utilizing our flexibility to take advantage of these opportunities."
     Home was not cited among best performing merchandise divisions in July at JCPenney, where comps rose 2.0%.

     Rival Kohl's posted a 4.6% comp decline following a strong performance in June.
     But overall gross margins were better than planned, said Kevin Mansell, chairman, president and ceo. "Early indications of customer reaction to higher apparel prices are in line with our expectations in terms of unit demand."