June disappoints, but many dept. stores, discounters beat Street

New York City The weak economy and cool, rainy weather that dashed interest in summer shopping across the country took a toll on department stores and discounters in June. Still, many managed to beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts noted that Wal-Mart Stores' recent decision to stop reporting monthly sales made it tougher to judge the industry's performance.

Kohl's Corp. said Thursday its same-store sales fell 5.6% in June as summer clothing sales suffered, but the chain’s results still beat Wall Street expectations.

Kohl's president and CEO Kevin Mansell said in a statement that June sales exceeded the company's expectations.

"We achieved positive comparable-store sales increases in the Southwest region, with the strongest performance in California, and in accessories and home from a line-of-business perspective," Mansell said. "Apparel businesses were affected by sluggish demand in seasonal categories such as shorts, polos, and swimwear."

J. C. Penney Co. said Thursday its June same-store sales fell 8.2%, but beat analyst expectations. Sales results were better in the Southwest and worse in the Southeast.

Luxury retailer Saks said Thursday that its same-store sales fell 4.4% in June, but beat the Street's expectations for a steeper decline after getting a boost from a designer sale event.

At Macy’s, same same-store sales fell 8.9%, a slightly smaller drop than analysts expected.

In the discount sector, TJX Cos. said Thursday that its same-store sales rose 4% in June as budget-conscious shoppers continued to look for bargains. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a same-store sales decline of 0.6%. Company president and CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in a statement that lean inventories helped the results.

TJX also raised its second-quarter outlook earnings from continuing operations outlook on stronger-than-expected sales results and solid merchandise margins for the quarter to date.

Target said its same-store sales fell 6.2% in June, worse than the 5.6% decline analysts had expected, as customers continued to shop sparingly and spend mainly on necessities such as healthcare products and food.  Still, the company said it expects to meet or exceed analyst expectations for second-quarter profit.

Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday that its June same-store sales dropped 6%, but managed to meet Wall Street's expectations. Excluding declining gas prices and the stronger dollar, June same-store sales edged up 1%. Costco said in a recorded message that some of its strongest categories included food and fresh-food products, such as deli items, frozen food and candy. It experienced softness in nonfood discretionary categories.

BJ's Wholesale Club saw its same-store sales fall 7.5%, hurt by lower gasoline revenue compared with a year ago. The price of gas in June was about 36% lower than the price in June last year, and cool and wet weather during the month throughout most of the Northeast hurt results by 1 to 2 percentage points.

In other results:

• Ross Stores saw its same-store sales rise 1% in June, as consumers snapped up its discounted apparel. Dresses and shoes were the strongest categories, while the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic were the best performing regions.

• Neiman Marcus reported a 20.8% decline in June same-store sales as weakness in luxury shopping continued in all geographic regions and merchandise categories.

• Dillard's said its same-store sales fell 14% in June, worse than predicted, hurt by sluggish sales in the Eastern and Western areas of the United States.

• Same-store sales at Fred's rose 0.2%, beating analyst expectations.