US Apparel Retailers Report July Comp Sales Growth

(RTTNews) - U.S. Apparel retailers on Thursday reported increases in sales at established stores for the month of July, as sales were positively impacted by the start of the back-to-school season shopping.

Back-to-school season shopping period is the second-largest retail season of the year after the winter holiday season.

July sales are typically weak and a transitional month for retailers as shoppers take vacations or save for school shopping. Retailers were seen using aggressive promotions throughout the month in order to clear shelves of summer items ahead of the back-to-school rush, with shoppers picking up summer clearance clothes.

The improved consumer confidence and employment picture reportedly saw higher store traffic that resulted in a better than expected improvement in sales.

According to the National Retail Federation's annual survey, total spending on back-to-school items is expected to reach $74.9 billion, about 3 percent higher than $72.5 billion in 2013.

A report released from the Conference Board on July 29 showed that U.S. consumer confidence improved for the third consecutive month in July, reflecting an improvement in consumers' assessment of current conditions as stock markets are still trending higher, interest rates remain low and labor market conditions appear to have strengthened with strong job growth.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index surged to 90.9 in July from an upwardly revised 86.4 in June, jumping to its highest level since October of 2007. Economists had been expecting the index to inch up to a reading of 85.4 from the 85.2 originally reported for the previous month.

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 July comparable store sales increased 6 percent, reflecting strength across its brand stores. Net sales also grew 8 percent to $735.3 million from $678.4 million last year.

Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT) reported a 0.8 percent growth in comparable store sales for the month of July. Total monthly sales also increased 0.9 percent to $75.3 million from $74.6 million in the prior-year month.

Stein Mart CEO Jay Stein said, "July sales trended higher in the second half of the month driven by early fall receipts. We continue to have a positive outlook for 2014 as the underlying fundamentals of our business and growth strategies remain in place."

Teen apparel retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) announced Wednesday that comparable store net sales for the month of July edged up 0.5 percent. Net sales also increased 2.3 percent to $79.0 million from last year's $77.2 million.

Meanwhile, value-priced fashion apparel retailer Cato Corp. (CATO) reported that July same-store sales increased 4 percent. Total sales also grew 6 percent from last year to $61.6 million.

"July same-store sales were in line with our year-to-date trend," 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 July grew 3.5 percent. Total net sales also increased 11.9 percent from last year to $62.8 million.