Three department store organizations – J. C. Penney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas), Kohl’s Corp. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) and Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) – surpassed analysts’ estimates for their recently completed first quarters.
Penney’s net income rose 13 percent; Kohl’s profit climbed 25 percent; earnings at Nordstrom increased 19 percent.
Penney and Kohl’s said their successes were helped by demand for new, exclusive lines of clothing, like Liz Claiborne capri pants at Penney and jeans by Polo Ralph Lauren at Kohl’s. Nordstrom said women’s clothing and handbags sold well after it added higher-price items from Burberry and Roberto Cavalli.
Penney’s sales rose 3.1 percent. “The year is off to a strong start,” said Penney’s ceo Myron E. Ullman. “New stores are doing exceedingly well.”
At Kohl’s, sales rose 12 percent, due to demand for men’s and children’s clothing. The stores added clothes from the Chaps line by Polo Ralph Lauren to lure middle-income shoppers away from higher-price rivals like Macy’s.
Nordstrom said revenue advanced 9.3 percent. Categories with above-average performance were designer apparel, accessories and women’s apparel, the company said.