Kohl’s Corp. said its same-store sales fell 10.4% in July, due to lower inventory of spring and summer merchandise. The company said its sales were affected by lower inventory levels of spring and summer items, which were sold on clearance during the month.
Kohl’s said for the four-week period ended Aug. 4, total sales dipped 2.2 % to $1.027 billion.
Total year-to-date sales were up 2.6% to $7.4 million. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales decreased 5.6%.
Larry Montgomery, Kohls chairman and chief executive officer, commented, “July was a month driven by clearance sales of spring and summer merchandise. Our inventory levels in these clearance and transitional categories were significantly lower than last year, affecting sales results, but leading to improved gross margins. We enter the fall season well-positioned and able to react quickly to any improvement in sales trends.“
The company is comfortable with the current First Call consensus earnings of 73 cents a share for the second fiscal quarter.
