Retail Sales Round Up: Strong Despite Irene Impact

Retail sales were generally strong this morning, despite the impact from Hurricane Irene at the end of the month. As such, we are generally seeing a favorable reaction in pre-market trading to many of the names. Costco CSOT shares reported August same-store-sales rose 11% year-over-year. This is better than the 9.3% growth that Wall Street was looking for, according to Thomson Reuters. The company said total revenue for the four weeks ending August 28 was $6.9 billion, up of 17% from last year. Shares are up 26 cents to $78.80 in pre-market. Macy's M reported same-store-sales of 5%, and it would have been higher had it not been for Hurricane Irene. The company said, "We estimate that same-store sales for the month of August, which ended on Saturday, would have been approximately 1.5 percentage points higher if not for the store closings and reduced customer traffic caused by the hurricane." Shares are up 60 cents to $26.45 in pre-market trading. Nordstrom's JWN reported August sales rose 6.7% over August 2010. Preliminary total retail sales of $691 million for August 2011 increased 12.4 percent compared with total retail sales of $615 million for the same period in fiscal 2010. Shares are not active in pre-market trading. Target TGT reported August 2011 same-store-sales of 4.1%, better than the 3.5% analysts had been expecting. "August comparable-store sales were in line with our expectations, reflecting solid results in our back-to-school and back-to-college categories," Chairman, President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement. Shares are up 33 cents in pre-market trading to $52.00. The Buckle BKE reported August same-store-sales rose 8.3%. A Thomson Reuters poll expected sales to rise 4.5%. Shares closed at $39.40 yesterday. Kohl's KSS reported August same-store-sales fell 1.9% from last year. Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, president and chief executive officer, commented, “Our August comp sales results were mainly driven by lower customer traffic. We are aggressively increasing our marketing as well as sharpening our pricing focus for the remainder of the fall season to reverse this trend. We are optimistic that these steps, combined with the excitement surrounding the Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony launches later this month, will have a favorable impact on our sales for the remainder of the year.” Shares are down 39 cents in pre-market trading to $45.95. Saks SKS reported August same-store-sales rose 6.1% over August 2010. Shares closed at $9.68 yesterday. J. C. Penney JCP reported August same-store-sales fell 1.9%. This is down from a 2.3% increase from last year. Shares are down 15 cents in pre-market trading to $26.48. The TJX Companies, Inc. TJX reported August same-store-sales were up 1% year-over-year. Shares are down 41 cents in pre-market trading to $54.21. Dillard's Inc. DDS reported August same-store-sales were up 4.0% over last year. Shares are up 58 cents in pre-market trading to $46.86. BJ's Wholesale Club BJ reported August same-store-sales rose 3.6%, and excluding gasoline, it rose 7.9%. Shares closed at $50.82 yesterday. Limited Brands LTD reported August same-store-sales soared 11%. Analysts had expected a 7.6% jump in sales, according to Thomson Reuters. Gap Inc. GPS reported August 2011 same-store-sales fell 3% year-over-year. “As we said on our recent earnings call with investors, we're determined to make the necessary adjustments to women's product and marketing to improve our overall performance and drive top-line growth going forward,” said Glenn Murphy, chairman and chief executive officer of Gap Inc. Shares are down 77 cents in pre-market trading to $15.75. One related ETF is the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT.