Saks trumps Dillard's in sales performance

NEW YORK and LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Saks Inc. and Dillard’s today reported their results for May 2007. For the four-week period ended June 2, Saks reported total sales of $248.9 million, while Dillard’s reported total sales of $528 million. For Saks, this represented a 39.4% increase over total sales of $178.5 million for the four weeks ended May 27. Dillard’s was not so fortunate, with its total sales falling 1% from $533 million last year.

Saks May same-store sales also saw a strong gain of 37.5%, while Dillard’s decreased 2% for the four-week period.

For the year-to-date period, Saks reported sales of $1.03 billion, a 21% increase over $854.9 million last year. Dillard’s reported a year-to-date sales decrease of 3% to $2.3 billion from $2.4 billion last year.

Saks comparable-store sales increased 19.3% for the year-to-date period. Dillard’s comparable-store sales fell 4%.

Saks contributed its solid performance in May to the strong categories of women's designer sportswear and "gold range" apparel, handbags, women's shoes, and men's shoes and advanced sportswear. For Dillard’s, their sales dip was attributed partly to cosmetics sales falling below trend.