The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced comparable store sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011 decreased 4.9 percent. Total sales decreased 4.9 percent to $303.6 million for the four weeks compared with $319.1 million for the prior year period.

Year-to-date comparable store sales through November 26, 2011 decreased 3.3 percent. Year-to-date total sales through November 26, 2011 decreased 3.7 percent to $2,205.1 million compared with $2,289.6 million for the prior year period.

Tony Buccina, vice chairman, president – merchandising, commented, “While we exceeded our expectations for the two largest sales volume days of the entire year, our November sales did not meet our plan. Black Friday sales resulted in the largest volume day in our Company's history and we achieved that record breaking day despite sales of cold-weather categories being down double digits. Unseasonably warm temperatures in our markets throughout the month hindered sales in cold weather merchandise in ladies, men’s, kids and home and although cold weather categories account for only 24 percent of our sales, they accounted for 67 percent of our comparable store sales decrease. Our best businesses for the month were shoes, hard and soft home, and juniors. Our eCommerce business continued to outpace a very aggressive sales plan, reflecting growth that will be included in December sales, and the sales performance in our pilot stores continued to outperform our total company sales. Our poorest performing categories were cold weather merchandise, along with traditional merchandise in ladies and men's apparel and accessories. We ended November with our inventories in great shape and consistent with the prior year. We look forward to the benefit of more seasonable weather during the important month of December.”

Keith Plowman, executive vice president and CFO, stated, “The company recently repurchased, in open market transactions, $30 million (principal amount) of the 10 ¼ percent Senior Notes due March 15, 2014 issued by our subsidiary, The Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc. The repurchase was completed at a discount that will provide a pre-tax gain, net of costs, of approximately $11 million. The gain will be recorded this year and is not included in the fiscal 2011 guidance the company provided in its third quarter earnings press release.”

Plowman continued, “Our excess borrowing capacity under our credit facility at the end of the November was approximately $333 million. As a reminder, in early 2011, we reduced our revolving credit facility by $50 million, which impacts November borrowing capacity, and paid off our second lien term loan of $75 million, resulting in a planned reduction to our excess borrowing capacity of $125 million.”

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 276 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.