Stage Stores, Inc. total sales for November increased 7.8% to $130.7 million from $121.2 million in the prior year four-week November period beginning October 29, 2006 and ending November 25, 2006. Comparable store sales for the month increased 3.6% versus an increase of 0.2% last year.
The Company added that its accessories, childrens, cosmetics, dresses, home & gifts, intimates, plus sizes, mens and young mens departments all achieved comparable store sales increases during November. Home & gifts, cosmetics and mens led the way with gains of 19.7%, 15.1% and 11.4%, respectively.
Jim Scarborough, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our comparable store sales results for November were impacted by several factors. On the positive side, we benefited from the arrival of cold weather in the Northeast, as well as the calendar shift which resulted in an extra week of pre-Christmas sales this November versus last November. On the negative side, sales were hampered by a challenging retail environment and a sales event in the last week of the month that did not meet our expectations. Consistent with the trend that we have seen over the last several years, we believe that our customers are waiting until it gets closer to Christmas to complete the bulk of their holiday shopping.
“We expect that the combination of our exceptional customer service, great merchandise selections and close-to-home locations will keep our customers coming to our Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage stores to fulfill their holiday shopping and gift-giving needs. At the same time, we continue to anticipate that our December comparable store sales will be down, due to the negative effect of the calendar shift in which December will have one less week of pre-Christmas sales this year versus last year,” Mr. Scarborough concluded.
