Ross Stores, Inc. saw sales of $802 million for the five weeks ended Jan. 3, 2009, a 6% increase over the $755 million in sales for the five weeks ended Jan. 5, 2008. Same store sales for the five weeks ended Jan. 3, 2009 were flat on top of a 3% increase for the five weeks ended Jan. 5, 2008.
For the eleven months ended Jan. 3, 2009, sales were $6.12 billion, a 9% increase over the $5.63 billion in sales for the eleven months ended Jan. 5, 2008. Comparable store sales for the eleven months ended Jan. 3, 2009 rose 2% over the eleven months ended Jan. 5, 2008.
Michael Balmuth, vice chairman, president and CEO, commented, “We are pleased with our solid performance during the important holiday season. Despite the fiercely competitive retail environment, we not only achieved our December sales target, but did so with healthy merchandise gross margins that were up from last year and in line with plan. These results reflect that our core strategy of delivering compelling bargains continues to resonate with today's increasingly value-driven consumer.”
Looking ahead, Balmuth said, “We continue to forecast a January same store sales decline of 2% to 4%. Based on this projection and our solid quarter-to-date results, we now are forecasting earnings per share for the 13 weeks ending Jan. 31, 2009 of 73 cents to 75 cents, compared to our previous range of 69 cents to 75 cents, and 70 cents in the prior year.”
