Same Store Sales Plummet at Retailers

All but Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), up 3.4%, suffer declines

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) said Thursday its November sales at stores open at least one year fell 15.9%. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to fall 17.9%, according to Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the four weeks ended Dec. 1 fell 12.1% to $707 million. The company said that due to the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday, its results for November 2008 were negatively impacted due to one less week of holiday shopping compared with November 2007.

Dillard Department Stores Inc. (NYSE:DDS) said Thursday its November sales at stores open at least one year fell 9%. Analysts, on average, had expected its same-store sales to fall 10.3%, according to Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 29 fell 9.6% to $505.8 million.

Macy's Inc. (NYSE:M) said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year fell 13.3% in November. Analysts had expected, on average, a drop of 12.1%. Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 29 were $2.33 billion, down 14.3%. "November ended with a strong Thanksgiving weekend, including the largest Black Friday in the history of our company," said Chief Executive Terry Lundgren.

TJX Cos. (NYSE:TJX) said Thursday its November sales at stores open at least one year fell 12%, with a 6% decline on a constant currency basis. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to fall 8.4%, according to Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 29 fell 9% to $1.6 billion.

J. C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE:JCP) said Thursday that comparable store sales decreased 11.9% for the four-week period ended Nov. 29. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a decline of 12.7%. Total company sales in November decreased 11.5% to $1.8 billion. "Black Friday shopping at JCPenney was strong across all areas of the country with customers responding well to the company's gift assortment and strong value proposition," the Plano, Texas company said.

Kohl's Corp. (NYSE:KSS) said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year fell 17.5% in November, compared to the target for a loss of 16.6% in a survey of Wall Street analysts by Thomson Reuters. Total sales dipped 13.7% to $1.75 billion. "November sales results were as expected, affected by both lower traffic than last year, and a significant sales shift due to a later Thanksgiving," the Menomonee Falls, Wis. retailer said. "Post-Thanksgiving results have been significantly stronger than our prior trend, driven by planned strong promotion."