Kohl's July comps fall flat

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. Kohl's Corp. reported today that sales for the four-week period ended Aug. 4 increased 7.7% to $1 billion from $977 million in the four-week period ended July 29, 2006. On a comparable-store basis, sales were flat to last year.

For the 26 weeks ended Aug. 4, total sales were up 10.2% over the 26 weeks ended July 29, 2006. On a comparable-store basis, sales for the 26-week period increased 2.5%.

Larry Montgomery, Kohl's chairman and ceo, commented, "We were disappointed in the performance of seasonal businesses such as shorts, tees, and tanks, which experienced declines on a comparable-store basis. Early reads on important back-to-school businesses such as childrens, young mens and juniors look promising. We continue to experience strong gross margin performance and expect our second quarter earnings to be within the range of our previous guidance of 81 cents to 85 cents per diluted share."