U.S. Apparel Retailers Report Mixed November Sales

(RTTNews) - A sampling of U.S. apparel retailers on Thursday reported mixed sales results at established stores for the month of November, marking a slow start to the all-important holiday season.

Sales during the month were impacted by continued unseasonably warm weather that delayed purchases of fall apparel as well as a shift in consumer buying patterns. Online shopping too has contributed to a decline in sales at brick-and-mortar stores as consumers get more and more comfortable shopping over the Internet.

Holiday sales are expected to constitute nearly one fifth of the retail industry's annual sales of $3.2 trillion.

The National Retail Federation sees a sales increase of 3.7 percent this holiday season, compared to the 4.1 percent growth reported last year.

Jack Kleinhenz, the NRF's chief economist, attributed the year-over-year decline to slow jobs growth, pressure from deflation on retail sales and increased consumer spending on services rather than goods.

In late November, the Conference Board revealed in a report that consumer confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a substantial deterioration in the month of November, mainly due to a less favorable view of the job market.

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 November comparable store sales increased 7 percent, reflecting strength in both its brand stores. The company recorded comparable store sales increase of 8 percent in the same period last year.

Net sales for the month were $1.17 billion, up 8 percent from $1.08 billion last year.

Meanwhile, Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT) reported a 4.8 percent decrease in comparable store sales for the month of November. Total monthly sales declined 1.2 percent to $126.4 million from $127.9 million in the prior-year month.

Stein Mart noted that the entire shortfall in November comparable sales occurred during the first two and one-half weeks of the month. Sales then improved to flat to last year for the remainder of the month and positive in early December.

The company noted that geographically, the West and the Northeast had the strongest sales in November where temperatures were cooler, while Florida and Texas performed below the chain.

Teen apparel retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) said that comparable store net sales for the month of November declined 7.9 percent from the year-ago period. Net sales also decreased 6.8 percent to $96.9 million from last year's $104 million.

Value-priced fashion apparel retailer Cato Corp. (CATO) reported that November same-store sales rose 1 percent, and total sales rose 3 percent from last year to $76 million.

John Cato, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Cato said, "November same-store sales were slightly above expectations. However, we remain cautious for the rest of the holiday shopping season and fourth quarter."