Macy's Inc. Nov.-Dec. comps down 1.1%

CINCINNATI Macy’s Inc. Thursday reported total sales of $4.6 billion for the five weeks ended Jan. 5, a decrease of 7.4 % compared to total sales of $5 billion in the five weeks ended Dec. 30, 2006.

The company reported that on a same-store basis, Macy’s Inc. sales were down 7.9% in December. According to the company, this is below guidance for December same-store sales to be down between 4% and 7%.

For the November-December period combined, Macy’s Inc.’s same-store sales were down 1.1%.

“Given the calendar shift between November and December, we noted previously that the two-month holiday selling period needed to be viewed together rather than each month individually,” said Terry Lundgren, Macy’s Inc. chairman, president and ceo. “After a strong November, we had hoped that a more positive sales trend would continue through December. But macroeconomic trends led customers to spend cautiously for the holiday. That said, we remain on track to be within our guidance for same-store sales in the fourth quarter, albeit at the low end of the range of down 2% to up 1%.” 

The company expects January same-store sales to be down by 4% to 6% compared with last year.