There is no real surprise from Gap’s third quarter figures: Sales are poor, profit is weak although marginally better than forecast, and the outlook remains gloomy.
The department store sector took another blow as Macy’s Inc. reported a big drop in earnings and its first same-store decline after six straight quarters of comp sales growth.
With a 4.3% decline in total revenue and a 3.9% dip in comparable sales, the latest set of numbers from Macy’s suggests that there are more nightmares than miracles on 34th Street.
With Black Friday a week away, more than half of consumers have already started their holiday shopping and nearly a quarter of purchases have already been made.
