The calendar shift in the Easter holiday back to April this year is a prime example of why so many retailers are now reporting comparable store sales on a quarterly basis. The shift that diluted March results this year will certainly boost April in time for those retailers, primarily in the family footwear segment, to present a complete picture to the market.
Based on its monthly survey of 60 chain stores, the International Council of Shopping Centers is estimating that comparable store sales for the five-week month of March inched up just 1.9% this year on top of a 4.1% gain in comps for the month last year when ICSC had 71 retailers reporting in their survey and Easter fell in the last week of the month.
“Even accounting for the Easter-shift, the 2006 fiscal year trend is about a half of a percentage point slower than 2005,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. “For April, ICSC expects same-store sales to increase by 5% on a year-over-year basis, as the Easter-related sales shift acts as a positive driver for April.”
The ICSC reported that Wholesale Clubs were on top again in March, posting a 5.7% increase for the period. Department Stores comps were up just 1.2% for March, but the Luxe retail component was back on track with a 3.9% increase, while Discount Department Stores comps were up 1.0% for the month. On the down side, Apparel Chain Stores comps were down 3.6%.
Pacific Sunwear would have pushed the Apparel Chain numbers even lower if included in the survey.
PSUN reported that total sales for the month were $116.8 million, a decrease of 2.9% from last years march. Total company comp store sales decreased 10.9% against an increase of 4.8% during the same period last year. By concept, PacSun same-store sales decreased 11.9% after a 4.9% increase last year and d.e.m.o. same-store sales decreased 3.9% compared to a 4.3% gain for the same five week period last year.
At PacSun, girls was down in the “high-teens” and guys was down in the “high-singles.” At d.e.m.o., juniors was flat, while guys was down in the “high-singles.”
Total transactions per comp store were down in the mid-teens, while average sale per comp store and average unit retail were up in the mid-singles. Geographically, comps were strongest in Texas and the Southeast, but were “very weak” in California.
After a challenging February and March, the company adjusted its first quarter 2006 earnings guidance to 14 cents to 16 cents per diluted share. The company remains comfortable with its fiscal 2006 annual guidance of 10 to 15% net income growth.
The Buckle, Inc. saw net sales for March increase 1.5% to $43.8 million from $43.2 million for the same month last year. Comparable-store sales declined 3.7% after an 8.0% increase during the same month last year.
Zumiez Inc. total net sales increased 37.3% in March to $18.4 million, compared to $13.4 million last year. The company's comparable store sales increased 14.3% for the five week period on top of a comparable store sales increase of 14.2% in the year-ago period.
