Disappointing June for Department Stores

New York City Shares of department stores dropped Thursday after retailers reported largely worse-than-expected same-store sales for June.

Shares of Nordstrom Inc. fell after the luxury department store said its same-store sales dropped 18.6%, due largely to a shift in a sale for women and kids from June into May.

The decline matched the expectations of Wall Street analysts, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. But the company also said its second-quarter profit would be either below or at the low end of its guidance for earnings of 65? to 70? per share.

Saks Inc. reported its same-store sales rose 1.9%, but analysts had expected a boost of 6.5% for the month. Saks blamed slow sales of women's and men's clothing for the sales drop.

At J.C. Penney Co. Inc., same-store sales dropped 2.4%, missing analysts' expectations for a decline of 1.1%.

Dillard's Inc.’s same-store sales also fell more than analysts expected. The retailer reported a drop of 5% for the month, mainly due to weak sales in the junior's and children's departments.

In one bright spot, Kohl's Corp. beat analysts' estimates. Its same-store sales rose 2.3% on strong sales of summer clothing. Analysts had expected a rise of just 0.6%.