Calendar helps Stein Mart sales in March

An early Easter helped Stein Mart post an impressive 7.9% boost in same store sales for the first quarter.

Stein Mart reported sales of $244.4 million for the nine weeks ending April 4, a 10.6% increase over that period the year before. The sales growth was especially strong in March, according to the release.

The company reported $155.8 million in sales for the five weeks ending April 4, a 14.2% increase over that time the year before. Same store sales were up 11.2% for March.

“March sales were partly impacted by earlier pre-Easter selling,” the company said in a release. “April sales will also be impacted by this shift in peak spring selling weeks. Geographically, most regions had high single or double digit comparable store sales increases, while the Northeast experienced a mid-single digit increase.”

The company operated 270 stores at the end of March this year, compared to 263 stores last year.