Sweet November

Macy’s Inc. (Cincinnati) reported a 13.9 percent increase in sales for the four full weeks of November 2007. Same-store sales were up 13.4 percent.

However, the country’s largest department store organization warned that December sales will be down as much as 7 percent and that its entire fourth quarter will slip 1-2 percent.

“Our business in November was strong as customers responded positively to the holiday season offering at Macy's and Bloomingdale's,” said chairman, president and ceo Terry Lundgren. “Sales also benefited from cold weather throughout many parts of the country during much of the November period, as well as a calendar shift that resulted in an additional week after Thanksgiving falling in the month of November this year compared to December last year. This calendar shift will result in our December sales being lower than last year. It is important that the November-December holiday selling period be viewed together rather than each month individually.”

Macy’s strong November was also enjoyed by a number of other large retailers. Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) reported a 7.4 percent sales increase during the month and an 8.7 percent same-store sales gain. But it too said, “going forward, December same-store sales results are expected to be negatively impacted by this shift.”

Among smaller specialty retailers, Abercrombie & Fitch (New Albany, Ohio) reported a 25 percent increase in sales in November but just a 2 percent same-store sales gain. Limited Brands Inc. (Columbus, Ohio) said same-store sales fell 7 percent in November and net sales were down 8.4 percent.

Chico's FAS Inc. (Fort Myers, Fla.) reported a 5.4 percent increase in November sales but a 13.7 percent decrease in same-store sales. And Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (New York) said net sales increased 12.2 percent and same-store sales gained 3.9 percent. Its Ann Taylor stores increased net sales 1.4 percent for the month with a 0.6 percent gain in same-store sales. And Ann Taylor Loft reported a 5.3 percent same-store sales gain.

“From a sales and margin perspective, November was a solid month overall for us,” said president and ceo Kay Krill. “Our trends in the first half of the month were better than in the back half, due to traffic weakness as the month progressed. The Ann Taylor division experienced very soft traffic in the second half of the month, although we achieved good in-store metrics. At Loft, traffic in the back half was also soft, but the division effectively offset this softness with very strong in-store performance. Importantly, we are entering December with healthy inventory positions at both divisions and with product assortments that we believe are better than last year.”