Dept. stores deliver solid June sales

NEW YORK – Department-store retailers turned out solid sales results in June, despite concerns about consumers cutting back on spending.

Macy’s Inc. reported that its total sales for the fiscal month of June increased 7.5% to $2.392 billion from $2.226 billion last year. The retailer reported a same-store sales increase of 6.7% for the month.

“Sales growth in June exceeded our expectations. Once again, the growth came from across the company – Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores and online sites,” said Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s, Inc.

Macy’s Inc. raised its guidance for the second quarter and said it now expects same-store sales to rise by approximately 6% in the second quarter.

JCPenney’s sales performance was less impressive than Macy’s, with the retailer reporting a slight decline in total sales. The company reported that sales for June decreased 0.3% to $1.54 billion from $1.55 billion for the same period last year. JCPenney did produce a positive comp, with same-store sales rising 2%. According to the company, strong category performers included women’s apparel and fine jewelry.

JCPenney said it expects comparable-store sales for the second quarter to increase between 1% and 2%.

Emerging as one of the strongest performers for the month was Kohl’s, which reported that total sales for June increased 9.2% to $1.8 billion from $1.6 billion last year. The retailer reported a same-store sales increase of 7.5%, which was on top of a 5.9% increase for the same period last year.

Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and CEO, commented, “After a sluggish May, we are very pleased with our June results. The Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions – our most weather-sensitive regions – reported especially strong comparable-store sales as weather turned seasonable in those regions. All lines of business reported positive comparable-store sales increases.”