Macy’s Sales Rise in October

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. reported total sales of $1.908 billion for the four weeks ended Oct. 27, 2012, an increase of 3.6 percent compared with October 2011. On a same-store basis, the department store chain’s sales were up 4.1 percent in October.

“Business was strong in October, and we delivered a solid performance in the third quarter,” says Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and ceo, Macy’s, Inc. “The key growth strategies we put in place three years ago continue to provide us new opportunities for continuous improvement in driving sales. We are feeling confident about our prospects for the upcoming holiday season and have increased our sales guidance for the fall season, despite the interruption caused by Hurricane Sandy in the first few days of the fourth quarter.”

More than 200 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores were closed for some period of time (ranging from a few hours to multiple days) as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The company is confident that it can make up some or most of the lost sales through the remainder of the quarter.

For the third quarter of 2012, the company’s total sales were $6.076 billion and same-store sales increased 3.7 percent. Given strong third quarter sales performance, Macy’s has raised its guidance for same-store sales growth in the second half of 2012 to approximately 4 percent (an increase from previous guidance of up approximately 3.7 percent).