Piper Jaffray Previews Same-Store Sales; Nordstrom And Limited Brands Highlighted

In Piper Jaffray's October same-store sales preview, the company said that its index is forecast to increase +1.3%, following a +1.7% increase in September and +2.9% increase in August, providing yet another positive reading of traffic and sales trend stabilization. “Against a backdrop of underperformance among the women's apparel retailers for reasons including warm temps and a lack of balance in the assortments, we highlight Limited Brands, Inc. LTD and Nordstrom, Inc. JWN as potential outliers to the positive—both catering to the higher-income consumer set and both gaining share in their respective spheres,” Piper Jaffray writes. “Though we are modeling JWN to be only slightly positive against this difficult October comparison, we believe the backhalf of the month may have seen a little pickup in sales relative to our mid-month checks.” Limited Brands, Inc. LTD closed Friday at $29.39; Nordstrom, Inc. JWN closed at $38.51.