Target Corporation May 2008 Sales Call Transcript
Target Corporation (TGT)
May 2008 Sales Call
June 5, 2008 8:00 am ET
Unidentified Executive
The comments on reported results in this summary relate to Target Corporation sales for the four-week period ended May 31, 2008, compared to the four-week period ended June 2, 2007. These sales results are included in the table of our sales release issued on June 5, 2008.
For the fiscal May period, reported comparable store sales decreased 0.7%. This sales performance was the result of a decline in the number of transactions, partially offset by an increase in average transaction size. Comparable store sales in May 2007 increased 5.8%.
The current month sales release quotes Gregg Steinhafel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Target Corporation, as saying “our comparable stores sales performance in May was in line with our planned range.”
The merchandise categories with the strongest comparable store sales growth during the month included healthcare, electronics and consumables/perishables. The categories with the weakest comparable store sales performance for the month included men’s apparel, jewelry/accessories, and lawn and patio.
Target’s strongest comparable store sales performance in May was in the Midwest region, with particular strength in smaller markets within the region. The Northeast region had the softest comparable stores sales in the month with below-average performance in several large metro markets. In addition, we continue to see weakness in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California.
At month end, our inventory was in very good condition, reflecting continued strong control of merchandise receipts.
Looking forward to June, our comparable store sales results will compare the five weeks ended July 5, 2008 to the five weeks ended July 7, 2007. We expect our comparable store sales for this period to lie in the range of minus 2% to zero. For perspective, comparable store sales for the five-week period in June 2007 increased 3.3%.
Target’s current sales disclosure practice includes a sales recording on the day of our monthly sales release. Our next sales recording is expected to be issued on Thursday July 10th, and may be accessed by calling 612-761-6500.
Statements regarding sales expectations are forward-looking statements and should be read in conjunction with the cautionary statement in Exhibit 99(a) to the company’s Q1 2008 Form 10-Q.
Copyright policy: All transcripts on this site are the copyright of Seeking Alpha. However, we view them as an important resource for bloggers and journalists, and are excited to contribute to the democratization of financial information on the Internet. (Until now investors have had to pay thousands of dollars in subscription fees for transcripts.) So our reproduction policy is as follows: You may quote up to 400 words of any transcript on the condition that you attribute the transcript to Seeking Alpha and either link to the original transcript or to www.SeekingAlpha.com. All other use is prohibited.
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HERE IS A TEXTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S CONFERENCE CALL, CONFERENCE PRESENTATION OR OTHER AUDIO PRESENTATION, AND WHILE EFFORTS ARE MADE TO PROVIDE AN ACCURATE TRANSCRIPTION, THERE MAY BE MATERIAL ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INACCURACIES IN THE REPORTING OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE AUDIO PRESENTATIONS. IN NO WAY DOES SEEKING ALPHA ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INVESTMENT OR OTHER DECISIONS MADE BASED UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS WEB SITE OR IN ANY TRANSCRIPT. USERS ARE ADVISED TO REVIEW THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S AUDIO PRESENTATION ITSELF AND THE APPLICABLE COMPANY'S SEC FILINGS BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT OR OTHER DECISIONS.
If you have any additional questions about our online transcripts, please contact us at: transcripts@seekingalpha.com. Thank you!
Get Seeking Alpha Free Stock Alerts by Email!
Get Free Stock Alerts by Email!
across all our transcripts by typing a phrase like "Apple iPod" or "solar power" in the site's general search box (top right corner).
On the search results page, click "Transcripts" to filter the results to show transcripts only.
ETFs In Focus
-
Editor's Picks
-
Most Popular
- ETF Insights: The New Hard Assets Producers ETF
- Why Airline Stocks Are So Often Bad Investments
- The Chinese Oil Problem
- Wildfires, Financial Crises, and Type Conversions in Markets
- The Most Important Fact To Know About Oil Investing
- New Currency ETN from Barclays
- Full list of Editor's Picks »
- Three Reasons the Solar Sell-off May Be in the Early Innings »
- Five Reason Steve Ballmer Thinks Apple's a Buy »
- What's in Store for the Fertilizer Industry? »
- Apple to Reveal Mysterious Product Transition on September 9th »
- Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News »
- Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News »
- Precious Metals Manipulation: Lawyers Prepare for Battle »
- Why Commodities May Be Nearing a Turning Point »
- Oil: The Inconvenient Truth »
- Sarah Palin: Wall Street's Candidate »
- 2 Top Energy Sector Bets »
-
Long Ideas
-
Short Ideas
-
Cramer's Picks
- China Natural Gas: Growth Appears Certain
- Can TRW Automotive Escape the Michigan Mess?
- Things Aren't Good - Fast Money Recap (9/4/08)
- ETFs That Help You Sleep Better at Night
- ETF Update: Alternative Energy and the Power Grid
- ETF Update: Healthcare Has a Heartbeat; A Good Time for Muni-Bond ETFs?
- Hansen Natural: Amazing Growth Stock Now Attractive to Value Investors
- MasterCard: Driven by Global Growth
- U-turn: Uranium Begins Recovery Phase
- Guru Picks: Five Blue Chips
- Full list of Long Ideas »
- Short Interest Rising in Tesoro; Shorts Covering Airline Positions
- Harbinger Capital: Cut Short
- Not Much Meat on Pilgrim's Pride's Bones
- Salesforce.com: Demystifying the Force
- Should We Listen to Boone Pickens on Oil?
- Energy Conversion Devices: Ridiculously High Valuation
- Three Reasons the Solar Sell-off May Be in the Early Innings
- Is the Market Rolling Over?
- Solar and Oil, Part Deux
- Financial vs. International ETFs: Which Bear is Grizzlier?
- Full list of Short Ideas »
- Cramer Sees the Light - Cramer's Mad Money (9/4/08)
- Keep Buying Big Brown - Cramer's Lightning Round (9/4/08)
- Don't Buy These Bonds - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/4/08)
- Loss of Integrity - Cramer's Mad Money Recap (9/3/08)
- Not Off the RIMM - Cramer's Lightning Round (9/3/08)
- Unbelievable Moves - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/3/08)
- The Rally was the Real Deal - Cramer's Mad Money (9/2/08)
- Crushed Unnecessarily - Cramer's Lightning Round (9/2/08)
- A Chance to Sell - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/2/08)
- Faith Doesn't Cut It - Cramer's Mad Money (8/29/08)
- Full list of Cramers Picks »
Trading Center
Hedge Fund Jobs
Job Seekers: Search jobs by category, get job alerts by email or live feed, apply online See full list of jobs »
Employers: See all recruitment options, get applications online or by email Post a job »


