(Source: Business Wire)
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) reported comparable store sales for the four-week period ended Aug. 29, 2009. Comparable store sales in August decreased 7.9 percent, in-line with the Company's guidance for sales to decrease 6 to 9 percent. In last year's August period, comparable store sales decreased 4.9 percent. Total Company sales in August decreased 5.6 percent.
As expected, sales during the month were favorably impacted by the combination of a later start to the Back-to-School selling period and the shift of several state tax-free shopping periods into this year's fiscal August. This benefit was partially offset by the shift of Labor Day into the September reporting period.
Women's apparel was the top performing merchandise division in August and continues to experience positive customer reaction to new brands and enhanced style. The children's division also performed well during August with both boys and girls apparel experiencing favorable Back-to-School sales. Home was the weakest performing division during the month. The southeast and southwest regions were the best performing regions in August, while the northeast region had the softest sales performance during the month.
Preliminary August Sales Summary ($ in millions) Total Company Sales % Increase/(Decrease) for period ended Total Sales Comp Stores Aug. 29, Aug. 30, 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 4 Weeks $ 1,428 $ 1,513 (5.6 ) (3.2 ) (7.9 ) (4.9 ) 30 Weeks $ 9,255 $ 9,922 (6.7 ) (3.7 ) (8.4 ) (5.7 ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September Sales Outlook
Management's guidance for the five-week period ending Oct. 3, 2009, is for a 3 to 6 percent decrease in comparable store sales, compared to a 12.4 percent decrease in last year's September period. September sales guidance takes into account the shift of Labor Day into the September reporting period from August last year.
