Weather, War and a Delayed Holiday Deter Retail
Chilly weather, a late Easter and a desert war all put a damper on March retail sales for apparel-specialty, chain and department stores, according to company reports.
Wet Seal continued to suffer, showing a 27.1 percent drop in same-store sales in the month following the ouster of longtime Chief Executive Officer Kathy Bronstein. Another struggling specialty-story retailer was Bebe, which posted a 10.5 percent drop in same-store sales for March. Even high flyer Hot Topic saw a 3.1 percent drop in samestore sales, although those figures could be offset by the number of new stores— eight Hot Topic stores and four Torrid stores—that opened in March. Hot Topic President and CEO Betsy McLaughlin cited the late Easter holiday for the same-store sales downturn, noting that the decrease occurred in the last week of the month. During the same period last year, retailers such as Hot Topic were enjoying an uptick in Easter sales.
Among the department stores, Dillard’s and May Co. both posted double-digit decreases in same-store sales for March.
Still, there were bright spots. Anaheim, Calif.–based Pacific Sunwear reported an 18.9 percent increase in overall sales and a 9.5 percent increase in same-store sales for March. And Fort Meyers, Fla.–based misses specialty store Chico’s posted a 34.8 percent gain in overall sales and a 12.4 percent gain in comp-store sales.
Among the big players, the success stories continued to be limited to Wal-Mart and Kohl’s, which both reported a slight upturn in same-stores sales. March was a big month for Menomonee Fall, Wis.–based Kohl’s, which opened 28 stores in Southern California. The retailer announced it will open seven more stores across the country this month and 45 stores in the Southwest this fall. —Alison A. Nieder
