Macy's Inc
. (
M
) - one of the leading department store retailers in the U.S. -
posted both sluggish comparable-store sales as well as sales for
the four-week period ended November 24, 2012.
Comparable-store sales inched down 0.7% year over year for the
month of November, as the company witnessed soft sales during the
month due to Superstorm Sandy, which more than offset the strong
Thanksgiving sales. Total sales decreased 0.6% to $2,450 million
compared with $2,464 million in the year-ago period.
Year-to-date, Macy's sales augmented 3.2% to $20.8 billion
compared with $20.1 billion in the comparable prior-year period,
whereas comps also witnessed an elevation of 3.1%.
Online sales, which include sales from macys.com and
bloomingdales.com, surged 39.2% in November 2012. On a
year-to-date basis, online sales shot up 37.1% from the
comparable year-ago period. The company remains on track to
expand both Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands online.
Despite soft results, Macy's stood by its earlier guidance and
expects same-store sales to increase by 4.2% during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2012. Moreover, the company expects earnings to
be in the range of $1.94 to $1.99 per share.
Macy's has been taking a number of initiatives in order to
bolster its sales, profitability and cash flows. These steps
include integration of operations, consolidation of divisions as
well as developing e-commerce business and online order
fulfillment centers.
We remain optimistic about the company's customer-centric
localization initiative called "My Macy's." The program aims at
improving comparable-store sales and reducing operating expenses,
with stores and merchandise assortments focusing on local
customer needs and preferences.
Macy's, which competes with
J. C. Penney Company Inc
. (
JCP
),
Dillard's Inc
. (
DDS
) and
Saks Incorporated
(
SKS
), currently operates approximately 840 department stores in 45
states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Currently, we have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the
stock. However, Macy's holds a Zacks #3 Rank that translates into
a short-term Hold rating.
DILLARDS INC-A (DDS): Free Stock Analysis
Report
PENNEY (JC) INC (JCP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
SAKS INC (SKS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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