Macy's, Inc. reported total sales of $4.43 billion for the five weeks ended Jan. 2, 2010, an increase of 0.7% compared with total sales of $4.40 billion in the five weeks ended Jan. 3, 2009. On a same-store basis, Macy's, Inc. sales were up 1.0% in December.
“We achieved our sales goals for Dec. despite the continued economic uncertainty,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc. “Our success in Dec. reflects the talent and dedication of our newly unified organization and further strengthens our confidence to meet customer needs through the My Macy's localization strategy.
“Sales for the month exceeded last year at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's. Bloomingdale's had a particularly strong Dec. highlighted by success in gifts and designer brands. Additionally, our online businesses – macys.com and bloomingdales.com – continued to benefit from investments to increase functionality, convenience, service and multi-channel integration with the stores,' Lundgren said.
Online sales (macys.com and bloomingdales.com combined) were up 29.4% in Dec. 2009 and 19.3% for the year to date. Online sales are included in the same-store sales calculation for Macy's, Inc.
Macy's, Inc.'s same-store sales for the nine weeks of Nov. and Dec. combined were down 1.5%, consistent with the company's guidance for sales to decline between 1 and 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
For the year to date, Macy's, Inc. sales totaled $22.240 billion, down 6.1% from total sales of $23.68 billion in the first 48 weeks of 2008. On a same-store basis, Macy's, Inc.'s year-to-date sales were down 5.8%.
The company increased its previously provided guidance for fourth quarter earnings. Macy's, Inc. now expects fourth quarter earnings per share on a diluted basis to be $1.14 to $1.18, excluding restructuring-related costs, compared to previous guidance of $1.00 to $1.05 per share.
