Target Corporation reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ended Jan. 31, 2009 increased 0.8% to $4,138 million from $4,106 million for the four weeks ended Feb. 2, 2008. On this same basis, January comparable-store sales declined 3.3%.
“January sales were in line with our planned range for the month,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target Corporation. “As stated in our sales release last month, we expect our holiday season markdowns and anticipated additions to our accounts receivable allowance to put additional pressure on our fourth quarter profitability. The magnitude of this pressure, combined with the continued effects of our adverse sales mix and the impact of the workforce reduction announced last week, will lead our fourth quarter earnings per share to be somewhat lower than the current median First Call estimate of 86 cents.”
| Sales | Total Sales |
Comparable Stores % Change |
|||||||
|
(millions) |
% Change |
This Year |
Last Year |
||||||
| January | $4,138 | 0.8 | (3.3) | (1.1) | |||||
| Quarter-to-date | $19,023 | (1.6) | (5.9) | 0.2 | |||||
| Year-to-date | $62,884 | 2.3 | (2.9) | 3.0 | |||||
