Target Corporation reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ended April 30, 2011 were $4.87 billion, an increase of 13.7 percent from $4.29 million for the four weeks ended May 1, 2010. On this same basis, April comparable-store sales increased 13.1 percent.
“April comparable-store sales were somewhat below our expectations, as guests continued to be very cautious in their spending leading up to Easter,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Target Corporation.
“Target remains focused on delivering an outstanding shopping experience, providing unbeatable value on high quality, well-designed items throughout our assortment. This is more important than ever for our guests as they face increasing pressure on their household budgets due to higher energy costs and increasing prices of food, apparel and home merchandise.
As a reminder, the 2011 Easter holiday was three weeks later than in 2010, which caused pre-Easter sales to move from March into April this year.
| Sales | Total Sales | Comparable Stores % Change | |||||||||||
(millions) | % Change | This Year | Last Year | ||||||||||
| April | 4,874 | 13.7 | 13.1 | (5.9 | ) | ||||||||
| March/April | 10,830 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 3.0 | |||||||||
| Year-to-date | 15,580 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.8 | |||||||||
