No March Madness For Retailers, More Like Across the Board Sadness

“Retailers broadly missed analysts’ estimates for same-store sales in March, a month that typically sees cold weather and slow hiring in the early weeks.

So far, 63 percent of retailers who reported results fell short of Wall Street’s estimates for sales at stores open at least a year, a key industry metric, according to the Thomson Reuters same-sales index, released Thursday. Excluding Walgreen and Rite Aid, whose results are heavily skewed by prescription drug sales, forecasters were expecting a jump in same-store sales of 2.2 percent, slowing from the blistering pace of 7.1 percent in March of last year.

Costco Wholesale reported a slightly smaller-than-expected rise in same-store sales, hurt by weak international results and lower gas prices, while Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands posted better-than-expected sales at all of its chains.

Costco fared better in the U.S., where sales at stores open at least a year rose 5 percent, largely in line with expectations. Small appliances, jewelry and fresh food logged some of the biggest gains.

L Brands saw continued improvement at its La Senza chain, as well as an unexpected rise in same-store sales at Bath & Body Works. Company-wide, same-store sales rose 3 percent; Wall Street had been expected flat results, according to Thomson Reuters.

Analysts had been expecting 13 top U.S. retailers, including Gap, to post a 1.8 percent rise in same-store sales for March, according to Thomson Reuters, down from a rise of 2.9 percent in March 2012….”

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