July Retail Sales Strong, Despite Unpleasant Surprises
NEW YORK – U.S. retail sales came in slightly better than expected in July, but the strong results didn’t extend to Gap or Pacific Sunwear.
Jos. A. Bank continued its torrid performance, landing with a 15.9% increase in comparable-store sales, while Men’s Wearhouse managed a 2.0% lift versus July 2005.
While American Eagle came in at 7.0% up for the month and Abercrombie & Fitch was up 3.0%, other teen retailers lagged. Pac Sun’s 10.6% drop led it to reduce earnings guidance, and drop sharply in Wall Street trading, and Aeropostale was down 1.9%, versus a projection of 3% to 5% up by Goldman Sachs. Gap continued to struggle – Old Navy and Banana Republic were flat, while Gap stores dropped 13.0% in the U.S. and 6.0% abroad.
Taken by sector, department and discount stores were up 3.2% each, according to Goldman Sachs, and specialty and off-price stores up 2.1%. All were 0.2 to 0.3% above GS’s estimate. Kohl’s and Nordstrom topped the department stores, at 5.9% and 5.3% up, respectively, and J.C. Penney barely missed the 5% line, advancing 4.9%.
Below, a selection of 21 stores reporting results, ranked in descending order of same-store sales results:
| July Same-Store Sales Results | ||
| Store | SSS* | |
| Jos. A. Bank | 15.9% | |
| Guess | 10.7% | |
| Costco | 7.1% | |
| American Eagle | 7.0% | |
| Kohl’s | 5.9% | |
| Nordstrom | 5.3% | |
| J.C. Penney | 4.9% | |
| TJX Cos. | 4.0% | |
| Federated | 3.3% | |
| Target | 3.1% | |
| Abercrombie & Fitch | 3.0% | |
| Wal-Mart | 2.4% | |
| Saks | 2.4% | |
| Men’s Wearhouse | 2.0% | |
| BJ’s | 1.9% | |
| Ross Stores | 1.0% | |
| Aeropostale | -1.9% | |
| Dillard’s | -3.0% | |
| Gap | -4.0% | |
| Hot Topic | -7.2% | |
| Pacific Sunwear | -10.6% | |
| Goldman Sachs July Composite Index | ||
| Actual | Estimate | |
| Department Stores | 3.2% | 3.0% |
| Specialty/Off-Price stores | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| Discount Stores | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Composite | 3.1% | 2.8% |
* SSS = same-store sales results
Men’s Wearhouse numbers are for U.S. stores only
SOURCES: Company reports, Goldman Sachs
