Gap Inc. (San Francisco) reported that March 2010 net sales were up 12 percent from last year. The company’s comparable store sales for the month grew 11 percent compared with an 8 percent decrease in March 2009. Among its brands, Gap North America’s same-store sales increased 11 percent; Banana Republic’s were up 10 percent; Old Navy North America’s comp sales grew 13 percent; and international sales grew 5 percent.
“We’re pleased that we continued to make progress on our goal of driving top line sales and that we delivered merchandise margins significantly above last year,” says Sabrina Simmons, chief financial officer of Gap Inc. “While we benefited from the Easter shift, our improved sales also reflect that customers are responding well to our brands’ spring assortments and value proposition.”
Macy's Inc. (Cincinnati) saw same-store sales rise 10.8 percent in March, while the department store retailer’s total sales tallied $2.143 billion, an increase of 11.0 percent compared to the same period last year. "Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's had a very strong month and performed above our expectations across the stores and online channels,” says Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and ceo of Macy's, Inc. “Sales also benefited from an earlier Easter that shifted some business into March and will hurt April comparisons."
Destination Maternity (Philadelphia) reported net sales for March increased 4.3 percent to $50.7 million, while same-store sales dropped 3.3 percent on a reported basis and decreased approximately 2.8 percent after adjusting for the "days adjustment calendar shift," which the Company estimates hurt its reported comparable store sales by approximately 0.5 percentage points.
“We expect our earnings for the second quarter to exceed the top end of our prior earnings guidance range and to be higher than last year, despite our comparable store sales decline,” says Ed Krell, ceo of Destination Maternity. “Our improved earnings performance is driven primarily by our continued cost reduction initiatives and strong merchandise gross margin performance, as well as from the growth in sales of our leased and licensed department relationships and increased Internet sales.