Kohl’s Reports December Comps Up 4.7%; Topline Up 8.8% for Month

Kohl’s Corporation reported that total sales for the five-week month ended Jan. 2, 2010 increased 8.8% from the five-week month ended Jan. 3, 2009. On a comparable store basis, sales increased 4.7%.

Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, commented, “Our December results reflect consistent results as all of our lines of business and all regions achieved positive comparable sales increases. We continue to see strong increases in transactions per store, indicating customers are selecting Kohl’s when they choose to shop, while maintaining their conservative spending. We are pleased that our best sales performance of the year occurred in the most important month of the year.”

From a regional perspective, the Southwest region led the company, as it has throughout most of 2009. From a line-of-business perspective, Footwear and Accessories reported the strongest comparable store sales increases.

As a result of its quarter-to-date performance and the assumption of a flat comparable store sales result in January, the company is raising its fourth quarter earnings per share guidance from $1.14 to $1.24 per diluted share to $1.28 to $1.30 per diluted share.