Federated Department Stores, Inc. reported total sales of $985 million for the four weeks ended March 1, 2003. This represents a decrease of 6.0 percent from total sales of $1.048 billion for the same period last year. On a same-store basis, Federated’s February sales were down 6.8 percent.
Terry J. Lundgren, Federated’s president and chief executive officer, said that the company’s February sales were consistent with expectations in the first half of the month, prior to record snowfalls around President’s Day weekend. “These storms in the eastern part of the country had a significant impact on sales,” Lundgren said. “Although February results were disappointing as a result, strong sales during the last week of the month did enable us to reclaim some lost ground.”
