Kohl’s, Macy’s and other department stores post gains in March

New York City Kohl's Corp. said Thursday same-store sales grew 22.5% in March, easily surpassing the 12.4% growth that analysts had expected. The chain raised its first-quarter guidance based on the strong results.

Kohl's said total sales for the fiscal month grew 26.4%, compared with the same period last year. The company said it saw more traffic across its stores, with strong sales in its footwear, home and children's departments.

At Macy's, same-store sales climbed 10.8% in March, ahead of the 7.9% gain forecast by analysts. Total sales for the period rose 11% to $2.14 billion.

“Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's had a very strong month and performed above our expectations across the stores and online channels," Macy's CEO, chairman and president Terry J. Lundgren said in a statement.

He also cautioned the early Easter will cut into April results. He expects same-store sales to be flat this month.

At J.C. Penney, same-store sales rose 5.4%. Wall Street analysts expected an increase of 5.7%.

The results reflected strong sales in all apparel categories with children’s apparel the best performing division during the period, the company said. The home division experienced the weakest sales results. Geographically, the southeast region was the best-performing region in March, while the northwest region had the softest sales.

In other department-store same-store sales:

• Nordstrom posted a 16.8% gain in March, much higher than the 10.6% gain analysts expected. The strongest regions were the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. California stores were improving but below average. Best-selling merchandise categories were fashion jewelry, dresses and women's shoes, the company said in a pre-recorded sales call. The average number of transactions grew for the seventh month in a row.

• Saks reported a 12.7% rise, ahead of the forecast of 8% in a survey of analysts.

• Dillard's sales grew 9%, beating the 5% growth that analysts were anticipating.

• The Bon-Ton reported an 11.4% rise.

• Neiman Marcus’ sales rose 9.6%, helped by demand for women's clothing and shoes, beauty and men's products.