Apparel Retailers Mostly Report Lower Sales In June

(RTTNews) - A sampling of U.S. apparel retailers on Thursday mostly reported lower sales results at established stores for the month of June.

June is normally a weak and promotional month for retail sales ahead of the strong back-to-school season, the second-biggest selling period after the holiday season.

In late June, the Conference Board released a report showing that consumer confidence in the U.S. improved by much more than expected in the month of June. The consumer confidence index jumped to 98.0 in June from a downwardly revised 92.4 in May.

Sales at established stores or comparable-store sales is a key retail industry performance metric to gauge activity at store locations that have been open for at least a year.

L Brands, Inc. (LB), the operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, said its June comparable store sales increased 6 percent, reflecting increases at both its brand stores. This compared to a 2 percent increase in the year-ago period.

The company noted that its comparable store sales for the month were positively impacted by about 2 points from timing shifts in the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays this year. However, the merchandise margin rate was down significantly from last year and also below expectations, driven by clearance at Victoria's Secret.

Net sales for the month were $1.30 billion, up 7 percent from $1.21 billion last year.

Looking ahead, L Brands said it expects July same-store sales to be flat to down low single digits.

Value-priced fashion apparel retailer Cato Corp. (CATO) reported that its June same-store sales declined 8 percent, while total sales for the month decreased 6 percent to $88.0 million from $93.8 million in the prior-year period.

"June same-store sales were well below expectations," said John Cato, chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, teen apparel retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) said its comparable store net sales for June declined 10.6 percent from the year-ago period. Net sales for the month decreased 10.1 percent to $78.3 million from last year's $87.1 million.

Buckle said its sales figures were reported net of the impact of both reward redemption and accruals for estimated future rewards related to the company's new Guest Loyalty program, which launched during the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2016.