May Same-Store Sales: Early Bird Special

While most major retailers won’t report same-store sales results for May 2009 until today (minus Wal-Mart (WMT) who previously announced they would no longer report on a monthly basis), we got a preview from two mall-based retailers – Hot Topic (HOTT) and Zumiez (ZUMZ). If their results are a sign of things to come, it could put a dent in the idea that retail sales have turned the corner.

• Hot Topic reported a decline in overall net sales of 2.9% from the prior year, while same-store sales were down 6.4%. Analysts had expected a same-store sales decline of 4.3%. The company had previously reported 7 consecutive months of same-store gains, but CFO Jim McGinty said on a pre-recorded call that virtually all accessory classifications slowed substantially from the first-quarter trends as a result of lower levels of in-store traffic. Hot Topic same-store sales were down 6.3% while Torrid stores showed a 6.9% decline.
• Zumiez reported a 9.6% decline in total net sales with a same-store sales decline of 20.7%, worse than the 20.2% fall analysts were expecting. “For the month, all departments posted a decline in same-store sales,” finance chief Trevor Lang noted on a pre-recorded call. This marks the 9th consecutive month of negative same-store sales results for the company.

Obviously this is just a small sample, so we will have to wait until another 30+ retailers report before we can draw any conclusions. However, it’s certainly not a good sign when a company like Hot Topic, which had been holding up relatively well, fares so poorly…

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