Slow sales in June
Sales fail to meet expectations for most
June comp sales were slower than expected for most retailers with Speciality up 0.6% comp (May 3.6%), Department Stores up 2.3% (May 3.1%) and Mass Discount up 4.1% (May 5.9%). Looking at April and May comps, June is somewhat in the middle. The stars are:
- American Apparel, showing a 19% increase
- Victoria Secret Stores at 11%
- Limited Brands (includes VSS) , TJX, and Ross Stores up 7%
- Nordstrom and Saks between 6-8% (includes off price divisions)
- CostCo up 5%.
Disappointing sales came from Kohls (with back to back comp sales declines 4.2% for May and June) and Macy’s (up 1.2% but below expectations and May results at 4.2%). The drugstore sector had a 5.5% decrease in June with a significant drop at Walgreens of 10%, the fourth largest US retailer in sales. Gap was flat; however, North America was up between 1% and 5% based on brand.
While June was disappointing across the cumulative retail landscape, the month is truly no indicator or predictor of future performance for the remainder of 2012. The next milestone or “peek” into Fall 2012 will be the Back To School (BTS) performance which typically is the second to third largest selling period behind holiday for most retailers who participate in the event. Based on current macroeconomics BTS promotion should be clear, clean, and basic with full price transparency (more on this topic in my next blog).
Happy July!