Kohl's misses August sales goals

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. Kohl's today reported that sales for the four-week period ended Sept. 1, increased 7.1% over the four-week period ended Aug. 26, 2006. On a comparable-store basis, sales decreased 0.6%.

For the 30-week period ended Sept. 1, the company reported that total sales were up 9.7% over the 30 weeks ended Aug. 26, 2006. On a comparable-store basis, sales for the 30-week period increased 2.1%.

Larry Montgomery, Kohl's chairman and ceo, commented, "August sales did not meet our expectations. Traditional back-to-school businesses such as juniors and young men's and boys performed well. Demand in other areas of the business such as home, men's and women's slowed versus their year-to-date trend. Regionally, the Northeast was the strongest while we experienced some softness in the Southern and Southwestern regions."

The company continues to expect comparable sales increases for the fiscal third quarter in the 2% to 4% range as it benefits from a calendar shift in October from November.