U.S. Apparel Retailers Report Modest Sales Growth In May

(RTTNews) - Most U.S. apparel retailers on Thursday reported modest increases in sales at established stores for the month of May, amid warmer weather and improvement in economic conditions.

Sales got a boost from Mother's Day, which is seen as the second biggest gifting holiday in the year after Christmas. Shoppers also stocked up on summer styles when retailers offered their annual Memorial Day discounts.

A report released from the Conference Board on May 26 showed that consumer confidence in the U.S. improved modestly in May after declining sharply in April. The U.S. consumer confidence index rose to 95.4 in May from a downwardly revised 94.3 in April.

Sales at established stores or comparable-store sales is a key retail industry performance metric to gauge activity at store locations that have been open for at least a year.

L Brands, Inc. (LB), the operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, said its May comparable store sales increased 5 percent. Net sales for the month were $799.1 million, up 5 percent from $763.6 million last year.

Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT) reported a 1.9 percent increase in comparable store sales for the month of May. Meanwhile, total monthly sales rose 3.3 percent to $113.3 million from $109.6 million in the prior-year month.

Stein Mart noted that geographically, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic states had the strongest sales in May, while California and Texas, which hold 25 percent of the company's stores, had sales decreases. In California, cooler weather severely impacted traffic. Record rainfall and flooding unfavorably impacted sales in the company's major Texas markets.

Teen apparel retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) announced that comparable store net sales for the month of May increased 2.4 percent. Net sales also grew 4.5 percent to $75.2 million from last year's $72 million.

Value-priced fashion apparel retailer Cato Corp. (CATO) reported that May same-store sales were flat with last year. Total sales grew 2 percent from last year to $88.5 million.

"May same store sales continued at our recent trend over the last several months at flat to last year," John Cato, chairman, president, and chief executive officer said.