January sales get boost from extra week

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 2/7/2013 2:19:15 PM

New York - What a difference a week makes. Last month's five-week retail calendar, compared to a four-week span in January 2012, resulted in strong sales growth for many retailers.
Only one retailer tracked monthly by HTT reported a same-store sales decline. The comp results:

• Fred's Inc.: + 28.6%. Growth came from the addition of tobacco as well as programs to drive higher ticket amounts and continued increases in pharmacy scripts.
• Alco Stores: + 21.4%. Cooler temperatures drove business in seasonal categories within the home and hardlines divisions, with expanded freezer and cooler product offerings also lifting sales.
• Kohl's Corp.: +13.3%. All lines of business achieved double-digit comparable store sales increases, except for footwear, which had a high-single digit comp gain.
• Macy's Inc.: +11.7%. January performance capped the company's third consecutive year of topline sales growth of more than $1 billion, which began in 2009.
• Stein Mart : +4.6%. Linens and men's furnishings posted the strongest sales for the month.
• Ross Stores: +4.0%. Better than expected.
• Target Corp.: +3.1%. Shoppers responded to clearance prices.
• Costco Wholesale Corp.: + 3.0%. Changes in gasoline prices had a slightly negative impact for the five-week period.
• TJX Cos.: +3.0%. Above plan, driven by customer traffic across the board.
• The Bon-Ton Stores: -0.4%. The company focused on inventory management to produce more profitable sales.