The Ides of January

Wal-Mart Stores (Bentonville, Ark.) shook off the December doldrums last month, reporting that net sales for the five-week period ending Feb. 2, 2001, increased 13.3 percent over the same period a year ago. The retail giant's sales for the 53-week period through January 2001 were up 15.6 percent. Total sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2001, were approximately $192 billion. Sam's Clubs sales for the five-week period were up 12.4 percent.

JCPenney Co. (Plano, Texas) did not have such rosy news to report. Preliminary sales for the four weeks ending January 27, 2001, decreased 2.4 percent. Department store sales for January decreased 6.2 percent, catalog sales decreased 17.8 percent, a result the company said, of eliminating several sales and specialty catalogs. (E-commerce sales, which are included in catalog sales, were $23 million in January – twice the sales of the same period a year ago – and $294 million year to date). Total drugstore sales for January (mostly from its 2650 Eckerd stores) increased 5.4 percent, and same-store sales 11.2 percent (with a 16.2 percent increase in pharmacy sales and a 1.9 percent increase in front-end sales).

The Limited, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio) reported a 5 percent increase in comp-store sales for the five weeks ended Feb. 3, 2001. Comparable store sales for the 14 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2001, increased 2 percent. And there was also a 5 percent comp-store sales increase for the 53 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2001.

Among other retailers to report comparative January results: Value City Department Stores (Columbus, Ohio), down 2.5 percent (Value City also owns DSW Shoe Warehouse stores and Filene's Basement); Ann Taylor Stores (New York), down 14.3 percent; Dollar General Corp. (Goodlettsville, Tenn.), up 6.6 percent; Claire's Stores (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), up 2 percent; and ShopKo Stores (Green Bay, Wis.), up 0.8 percent.