Easter makes for a hoppy March at Fred's

Robust Easter sales in the candy, toy and gift categories helped Fred’s increase its same store sales in March.



Fred’s announced that its March same store sales for the month increased nearly 2%, compared with a decrease of 1.2% in March 2014. Netsales increased 0.3% to $191.7 million, as compared to $191 million during the same period in 2014.



Total sales for the first two months of fiscal 2015 declined 1% to $344.9 million. Excluding sales of $15.8 million from closed stores for the comparable two-month period in 2014, total sales increased by 4% for the same time period in 2015, the company reported.



According to Fred’s CEO Jerry Shore, Easter product sales as well as revenue from the company’s pharmacy department were factors in the increase. He noted areas where the company hoped to see improvement: “We were negatively affected in spring seasonal and Lawn & Garden product categories due to the port strike and wet weather during March,” Shore said. “We expect that these sales will rebound in the upcoming months as spring merchandise is received.”



Shore also added that the Fred’s pharmacy team is at workcompleting the acquisition of specialty pharmacy business EntrustRxand Reeves-Sain Drug Store.