The Buckle, Inc. reported that sales for the five-week period ended January 1, 2005 increased 8.9% to $79.5 million from sales of $73.0 million in the year-ago month.

Comparable store sales, for stores open at least one year, for the five-week period ended January 1, 2005 increased 4.4 percent from comparable store sales for the prior year five-week period ended January 3, 2004.

Net sales year-to-date, for the 48 weeks ended January 1, 2005 increased 11.2 percent to $444.9 million from $400.2 million for the corresponding 48 weeks in the prior year. Comparable store sales year-to-date were up 6.2 percent from sales in the same 48-week period of the previous year.