Ross Leads Way In Same-Store Sales

New York For July’s retail roundup of same-store sales, it was was off-price chain Ross Stores that proved the leader, followed by Gottschalks, Target and the three major warehouse clubs.

Ross reported the highest same-store sales gain with a 7 percent increase. West Coast regional department store Gottschalks came in second place, more than a point behind at 5.8 percent.

With 5.5 percent, Target beat Wal-Mart’s 4.2 percent increase.

And the three clubs — Sam’s Club, Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club -- all hit some of the highest notes with 5.1 percent, 5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively.

Not-so-hot summer shopping destinations last month, based on same-store sales, consisted of a mixed bag of retailers that included Value City, down 8 percent, Hancock, with a 7.9 percent decrease, and Pier 1 Imports, with a 7.7 percent decline.

ShopKo Stores declined in same-store sales by 5.5 percent and parent company ShopKo by 4.9 percent, making them the list’s fourth and fifth biggest losers.

In the midst of a merger, Federated and May Co. didn’t fare well in July, the former dropping in same-store sales by 0.9 percent and the latter by a heftier 3.3 percent.

The “dollar” stores showed mixed results for the month. While Dollar General enjoyed a 3.1 same-store sales increase, its competitor Family Dollar suffered a 1.6 percent decline.

With respect to product categories, home was not a strong point during the period for some, such as Dillard’s, which noted its sales of decorative home merchandise were below trend, and Saks Department Store Group, which described its soft home merchandise as one of its poorest sales performers.