U.S. Clothing Retailers Report Modest Sales Gains In January

(RTTNews) - A sampling of U.S. apparel retailers on Thursday revealed modest sales gains in January as some shoppers took advantage of the post holiday clearance sales. However, spending cooled off after the holiday season buying spree. The poor winter weather also kept shopper indoors, but not as much compared to last year's severe weather events.

The month of January is normally the slowest month for retailers following the most important holiday season sales rush, when retailers normally rake up 40 percent of their annual income.

A report released from the Conference Board on January 27 showed a substantial improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of January, with the index jumping to its highest level in over seven years, reflecting the significant boost to real incomes from continued strong job growth and the plunge in gasoline prices.

The U.S. consumer confidence index surged up to 102.9 in January from an upwardly revised 93.1 in December. Economists had expected the index to climb to 96.0 from the 92.6 originally reported for the previous month. The much bigger than expected increase lifted the index to its highest level since reaching 105.6 in August of 2007.

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 January comparable store sales increased 7 percent, reflecting strength in Bath & Body Works stores. This smashed analysts' expectations for a 1.9 percent growth. Net sales were $783.1 million, up 7 percent from $731.2 million last year.

Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT) reported 6.6 percent growth in comparable store sales for the month of January. Total monthly sales also grew 8.3 percent to $69.7 million from the prior-year month.

"Our fourth quarter 5.6 percent comparable store sales increase capped off a great second-half performance. Sales continued to build throughout the quarter, particularly as we did not have a repeat of last year's severe weather events," Stein Mart CEO Jay Stein said in a statement.

Teen apparel retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) announced that comparable store net sales for the month of January edged up 0.8 percent. Net sales also grew 3.6 percent to $58.9 million from last year's $56.9 million.

Buckle also said it will begin including online sales in its reported comparable store sales from the February 2015 monthly sales release and for all future periods.

Value-priced fashion apparel retailer Cato Corp. (CATO) reported that January same-store sales grew 14 percent, and total sales also increased 14 percent from last year to $54.9 million.

"January same-store sales results were positively impacted due to adverse weather in the prior year," commented John Cato, Chairman, President, and CEO of Cato.

Another specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories Zumiez, Inc. (ZUMZ) reported Wednesday that its comparable store sales for January grew 12.3 percent, on top of last year's 7.6 percent decline. Total net sales also increased 16.0 percent from last year to $44.1 million.