Jan. comps fall at department stores

Department stores continue to suffer from a weak spending environment with TJX, Kohl’s and JCPenney all reporting same-store sales decreases for the month of January.

TJX reported a comparable-store sales decline for the four-week period ended Jan. 31 of 4% compared to a 1% increase last year on the same basis. According to company president and CEO Carol Meyrowitz, the comps decrease was in line with TJX’s expectations.

Over at Kohl’s, comparable-store sales decreased 13.4%. Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s president and CEO attributed the company’s January sales results to lower seasonal clearance inventory levels.

JCPenney reported a comparable-store sales decline of 16.4%, compared with the company’s guidance for sales to decrease low-double digits.

During the month, women’s apparel and family shoes were the best performing divisions, while fine jewelry experienced the weakest results, JCPenney reported. Geographically, the northwest region was the strongest and the central region was the weakest performing region in January.