For a country whose GDP is 72% based upon consumer spending, it sure looks dire. The MSM will continue to downplay the FACT that the average middle class American has run out of money. The retail sales results for June were BAD. Costco, Target, Kohls, and Macy’s operate tens of thousands of stores and anchor malls and power centers across the land. Their sales were horrific. Please note that these comparable store sales numbers INCLUDE online sales and INCLUDE the impact of inflation. In reality, the number of people going into these stores was negative across the board in June. You won’t see that reported in the flowery press releases with excuses about storms and whatever other lame excuse these CEOs can think up. I thought the plunge in gasoline prices was going to rejuvenate the consumer. It looks like another false MSM storyline.
Luckily the 1% are still doing fine, as Nordstrom and Saks had great months. Thank God for the rich Wall Street pricks. What would we do without them?
This is just another confirmation that the country went into recession during May/June. Now with surging food prices baked into the proverbial cake over the next 6 months, retail sales should really pick up.
Retailers Post Disappointing Sales in June
Retailers reported largely disappointing sales in June, as consumers pulled back on spending amid concerns about jobs and the economy.
Thomson Reuters was expecting its same-store sales index to inch up 0.5 percent in June, far weaker than a year-ago when the index rose 6.7 percent in June.
June tends to be a weaker month on the retail calendar with fewer reasons to drive shoppers to the store.
Department store Macy’s [M 33.36 (---) 
] was among the retailers reporting sales that fell short of estimates. The company said same-store sales rose 1.2 percent in June, compared with an estimate of 1.9 percent from Thomson Reuters. In the wake of the weak results, the company said it expects its fiscal 2012 earnings to be between $3.25 and $3.30 a share, which is below the $3.37 a share average analyst estimate.
Discounter Target [TGT 57.78 (---) ] also reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales growth, but it reiterated its earnings forecast for its fiscal second quarter. Still, Target shares were trading lower before the market’s open.
There were some pockets of strength. High-end retailers Nordstrom [JWN 50.56 (---) ] and Saks [SKS 10.92 (---) ] both topped analysts’ estimates as did off-price retailers TJX [TJX 42.50 (---) ] and Ross Stores [ROST 62.78 (---) ] .
Limited Brands [LTD 44.14 (---) ] , the parent of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, also smashed its final estimates. The retailer reported an increase of 7.0 percent in sales at stores open at least 12 months. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting, on average, a gain of 2.4 percent.
Among the worst results were teen apparel retailers Wet Seal [WTSLA 3.16 --- UNCH (0) ] and The Buckle [BKE 39.67 (---) ] . Sales declined 9 percent at West Seal, far deeper than the projected 7.7 percent decline that was expected.
At the Buckle, sales fell 2.5 percent, compared with estimates that called for flat sales.
A table of the results follows:
|
Same-Store Sales, June 2012
|
| Retailers | June 2012 Estimates | June 2012 Actuals |
| Costco Wholesale | 3.7% | 3.0% |
| Target | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| Fred’s | 0.2% | (4.0%) |
| Kohl’s Department | (3.2%) | (4.2%) |
| JW Nordstrom | 4.7% | 8.1% |
| Saks Department Store | 4.7% | 6.0% |
| Stage Stores | 2.7% | 3.3% |
| Macy’s | 1.9% | 1.2% |
| Gap | 0.1% | Flat |
| TJX | 4.2% | 7% |
| Limited | 2.4% | 7.0% |
| Ross Stores | 4.8% | 7.0% |
| Stein Mart | 2.0% | (0.5%) |
| Wet Seal | (7.7%) | (9.0%) |
| The Buckle | Breakeven | (2.5%) |
| Zumiez | 8.4% | 8.2% |
|
Source: Thomson Reuters, company reports. Figures in parenthesis are losses.
|
Typical Story Inserts (as found in CNBC/Components/Data-Market folder
Chicago999444 says:
Again, we are in the middle of a major economic shift.
It never was a good idea to base an economy on consumer spending and asset inflation (a.k.a. housing). The growth and prosperity of the 50s, for example, was based on SAVINGS and INVESTMENT in plant and R&D.
If we ever again want to have not only a solid economy that offers niches for a variety of workers and good wages, but also technological advancement, we must once more having savings and investment. No one has any money to spend because we haven’t had savings or REAL investment since the 60s, with the exception of the high tech sector in the 90s.
It’s going to be painful to shift back to spending less than you make, especially when your income has been shaved up to 50%, but I”m happy to contribute to the effort. Even though I’ve experienced a 40% cut in pay and hours, I”m actually saving money. But the stuff I’m doing without to do that really wasn’t contributing such great value to my life, anyway. I’m none the poorer without a car, or new clothes every season, or 1200 calorie meals in restaurants. The impetus to save is often the trigger for finally ending addictions and cutting spending on stuff you never even really wanted that badly, let alone needed.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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5th July 2012 at 9:52 am
Administrator says:
U.S. June services activity slowest since Jan. ’10
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. services activity slowed in June to the weakest level since January 2010, according to data released by the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday. The ISM services index fell to 52.1% from 53.7% in May, which was worse than the 52.9% than economists expected. Of key components, the production index dropped 3.9 points, the new orders component fell 2.2 points, while the employment component rose 1.5 points.
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5th July 2012 at 10:13 am
Chicago999444 says:
Those are scary stats…. the “lead” indicators are declining, with only the “lag” indicator, employment, improving…. and that “improvement” as we know is shown by massaging the numbers to conceal the fact that the workforce is growing much faster than the number of jobs available.
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5th July 2012 at 10:32 am
RETAIL SALES ARE IN THE SHITTER « The Burning Platform « Deals Sales Management says:
[...] link: RETAIL SALES ARE IN THE SHITTER « The Burning Platform Comments [...]
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5th July 2012 at 11:15 am
cahuitabeachbound says:
JQ:
I have to say your preambles to the articles are always sooooo cynical. Love it, love it, love it!! I thought I was jaded. I literally yelled “oh, fuck”(like an “aw shit”) when I saw that Countrywide thing on FOX. My 94 yo dad just kinda chortled and asked me to look up the Twins standing. Then HE got depressed.
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5th July 2012 at 11:37 am
Administrator says:
cahuitabeachbound
I don’t even have to work at it. The cynicism is natural. I inherited it from my dad.
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5th July 2012 at 11:46 am
Colma Rising says:
What the retailers need is to ship everyone from the Phillipines to areas near their malls.
Not only are they good people with great kids, they seem to keep the malls here vibrant, thick or thin.
Correlation may not be causation, but I imagine the singing and dancing would cheer up the depressed consumer in mullet-clad middle America as well.
If only everyone would listen to ME, life would be better.
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5th July 2012 at 12:03 pm
Administrator says:
Retailers post worst June sales in three years
By Andria Cheng, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — As economic uncertainty sapped both consumer confidence and sentiment in June, American shoppers also exercised caution with their wallets and delivered U.S. retailers’ worst monthly sales in three years.
Total June sales at stores open at least a year — a key industry performance metric that strips out the impact of new and closed stores — rose 0.1%, short of the 0.5% gain Wall Street was looking for. That was the industry’s smallest pace since sales declined in August 2009, according to Thomson Reuters. Retailers also compared against a 6.7% increase a year earlier.
Among 20 retailers that reported their results, more than two-thirds of them missed estimates, Thomson Reuters data showed.
From discounters Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) and Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) to department-store operator Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) and teen-oriented Buckle Inc. (NYSE:BKE) , monthly sales results came up short of expectations Thursday.
Signaling that retailers in the middle continued to be squeezed, Kohl’s Corp.’s (NYSE:KSS) sales fell a wider-than-expected 4.2%. The company also said second-quarter profit would be at the low end of its previously forecast range of 96 cents to $1.02 a share.
Kohl’s shares, however, rose 7.3%, after the company said sales improved in the latter weeks of the month.
Macy’s Inc.’s sales rose 1.2%, missing the 1.9% estimate.
“This was a function of a macroeconomic environment that is stagnant at best, and lower spending by tourists in cities such as New York,” said Chief Executive Terry Lundgren, adding sales also were hurt more than expected by renovations at Macy’s New York flagship.
Luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) has also referred to a drop in sales, especially to European tourists, at its New York flagship, about 8% of total company sales.
On the discount side, Costco sales rose 3%, missing the 3.7% estimate. Target sales rose 2.1%, short of the 2.4% estimate, even though Target expected to deliver second-quarter sales and profit in line with its expectations. Management also projected that July’s sales would rise at a low-to-mid single-digit percentage rate.
The July 4 holiday that fell on Wednesday this year instead of Monday last year has led some pre-holiday food and other consumable product sales, which were captured in June last year, to be reflected in July number instead, analysts said. Costco estimated the calendar shift may have hurt sales by a little over 1 percentage point.
Meanwhile, lower gasoline prices and food inflation may have also slowed its traffic, analysts said.
Consumers pause
As stock markets have declined in the past three months amid uncertainty about the euro-zone financial crisis, China’s slowing economy, and disappointing job growth in the U.S., consumers paused in their spending even in the face of gasoline prices declining for 11 straight weeks.
“Year-to-date same-store sales results have been volatile, driven in part by various economic and political uncertainties as well as unseasonable weather,” said President and Chief Executive John Cato at women’s clothing retailer Cato Corp. (NYSE:CATO) , which said second-quarter profit will be at the low end of its guidance after June sales dropped 10%. “It is likely this volatility will continue and we remain cautious as we look toward the second half of the year.”
Cato shares slumped 11%.
Paycheck to paycheck
Thursday’s results echoed other caution issued recently by retailers and brands including Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) and Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) , both of which have given disappointing outlooks, while discounter Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) said more of its customers were living paycheck to paycheck.
Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) sales were flat, slightly short of the 0.1% estimate, because of a bigger-than-expected decline at its international unit. On a bright side, results in North America at its namesake brand and Banana Republic registered stronger-than-expected gains while Old Navy saw an unexpected increase. Gap’s stock was up 1.2%.
At Buckle, sales unexpectedly dropped 2.5%, sending its shares down 5.4%.
But for some retailers, their winning streak continued.
Upscale retailer Nordstrom Inc.’s (NYSE:JWN) sales rose 8.1%, topping the 4.7% estimate. Saks Inc. (NYSE:SKS) rose a better-than-expected 6%.
They “ helped to alleviate concerns about a slowdown at the high end,” said Lazard Capital analyst Jennifer Davis. A decline in high-end shoppers’ outlook led the drop in consumer sentiment last month.
TJX Cos. (NYSE:TJX) sales rose 7%, topping the 4.2% estimate. The company raised its second-quarter profit forecast to as much as 53 cents a share from a May forecast of as much as 50 cents.
Rival Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) sales rose 7%, beating the 4.8% estimate. The company raised its second-quarter forecast. Ross shares rose 6.8% as TJX traded up 4.2%.
“The consumer seems to have the ability to spend, but not the ability to spend everywhere,” said analyst Joe Feldman of Telsey Advisory Group.
Victoria’s Secret parent Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE:LTD) sales rose 7%, outpacing the 2.4% increase analysts were looking for. Results were better than expected across the Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and La Senza chains, and the company’s direct sales posted an 11% increase after a 2% drop a year earlier. Sales at Victoria’s Secret also surged 11%. Limited shares rose 7.1%.
Weather as a factor
Analysts have said retailers’ results toward the end of the month may also have been hurt by tropical storm Debby in the Southeast and wind and thunderstorms in the mid-Atlantic region that led to severe power outages last week.
“The weather distractions we endured during June in Florida and many of our other markets challenged our business,” said Jay Stein, interim chief executive at Stein Mart (NASDAQ:SMRT) , which posted an unexpected 0.5% decrease after weak results in Florida and the Southeast.
Overall results also were hurt by warmer-than-average weather earlier in the year that pulled forward demand for summer and warm-weather goods, analysts have said.
In the wake of sluggish demand, analysts said retailers’ promotional stance will likely continue as they begin to ship back-to-school and other goods to stores.
June’s disappointing sales “may be harbinger of more summer weakness,” said Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics.
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5th July 2012 at 1:35 pm
ecliptix543 says:
Colma, when I rule the world, I’ll be sure to let you ship people from the Phillipines anywhere on the planet that you think their values and participation rates would be best.
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5th July 2012 at 2:52 pm
Colma Rising says:
Daly City’s own is a Glee Star.
Like Ecliptix543, many would see my idea’s inherent value in a very short time…
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5th July 2012 at 3:05 pm
Colma Rising says:
In super size….
Heh heh heh…. oooops
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5th July 2012 at 3:06 pm