The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced comparable store sales for the five weeks ended July 3, 2010 increased 1.4%. Total sales for the five weeks increased 1.2% to $244.4 million compared with $241.5 million for the prior year period.
Year-to-date comparable store sales increased 1.9%. Year-to-date total sales increased 1.6% to $1,092.4 million compared with $1,075.0 million for the same period last year.
Tony Buccina, Vice Chairman and President – Merchandising, commented, “We were pleased with our June sales results, which met our expectations. Our best performing categories for the month were moderate, better and petite sportswear, dresses and intimate apparel. The weakest performing categories were juniors, home and men's. Our comparable store inventories were down 2.4% and our comparable store clearance inventories were reduced by 5.9% from the prior year, reflecting continued inventory control and a fresh merchandise assortment. We are on schedule to receive back-to-school and transitional fall merchandise, along with new home assortments for our July semi-annual Home Sale.”
Keith Plowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, “We ended June with excess borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility of approximately $428 million, well above the required minimum availability of $75 million.”
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 278 department stores, which includes 11 furniture galleries, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate.
