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The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined slightly in April, fell further in May. The Index now stands at 64.9 (1985=100), down from 68.7 in April. The Expectations Index declined to 77.6 from 80.4, while the Present Situation Index decreased to 45.9 from 51.2 last month. Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at… Read more »

Macy’s reported Wednesday that same-store sales for the month of May increased 4.2% compared with the previous year.  Revenue rose 4.1% to $2.02 billion. “Growth in May 2012 came from stores and online, and across geography and categories of business,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO. “We are seeing the ongoing benefit of… Read more »

Lowe’s reported net earnings of $527 million for the quarter ended May 4, a 14.3% increase over the same period a year ago.  Sales for the quarter increased 7.9% to $13.2 billion, from $12.2 billion in the first quarter of 2011.  Comparable-store sales for the quarter increased 2.6%, while comparable-store sales for the U.S. business… Read more »

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $408.0 billion, an increase of 0.1 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 6.4 percent (±0.7%) above April 2011.  Total sales for the February through… Read more »

First quarter profits at Walmart exceeded analysts’ estimates, as same-store sales increased 2.6%, and the company said its strategy of low prices on a broad merchandise assortment is resonating again with shoppers. Sales for the quarter increased 8.6% to $112.3 billion, compared with $103.4 billion in the first quarter last year. The results would have… Read more »

Home Depot saw comp-store sales increase 5.8% in the first quarter of strong sales and earnings growth.  Home Depot’s Craig Menear, EVP merchandising, shared details and data from a first quarter that saw double-digit comps in certain seasonal product categories.  A long list of products were described as double-digit comp generators, including walk-behind mowers, riding… Read more »

Nordstrom Inc’s profit for the first quarter edged up just 2.7% to $149 million, compared with $145 million in the same period last year. Results, which were negatively impacted by free shipping offers and promotional initiatives, met internal expectations, but missed Wall Street estimates. Sales soared 13.7% to $2.53 billion, but still missed analysts’ forecast… Read more »

Dillard’s net income for the quarter ended April 28 rose to $95 million, from $76.7 million in the year-ago period, setting a company record for profit increases. Sales rose to $1.55 billion, from $1.47 billion. Same-store sales climbed 5%, the department store retailer’s seventh consecutive quarter of comp increases. Dillard’s said it saw its greatest… Read more »

CINCINNATI — Macy’s Inc. reported a significant increase in sales for the first quarter, thanks to a strong performance in its online business. The company reported that total sales for the quarter increased 4.3% to $6.1 billion. Online sales for the quarter increased 33.7% and contributed 1.5 percentage points to the company’s same-store sales increase of… Read more »

Despite dropping from the previous year, Kohl’s said its net income for the first quarter ended April 28 was in line with its expectations. The company reported net income of $154 million (63 cents per diluted share) compared with $201 million ($0.69 per diluted share) a year ago. Net sales were $4.2 billion, an increase… Read more »