BENTONVILLE, Ark.–Retailers posted ho-hum July sales, with department stores recording the poorest results and discounters falling short of Wall Street’s expectations.
By contrast, warehouse clubs shined during the month, fueled in part by gasoline sales.
J.C. Penney’s comparable-store sales fell 6.5 percent, and home was one of the poorest-performing categories. However, Linden Street, the retailer’s new private-label home collection, garnered strong bed and bath, lighting and slipcover results.
Midmarket rival Kohl’s posted a 10.4 percent comparable-store sales decline, driven in part by clearance sales of spring and summer goods.
“Business at the department stores is tough, because shoppers in the midrange and high end are trading down,” Gil Harrison, chairman and founder of Financo, told HFN. “They are spending more on essential products.”
Indeed, comp-store sales at warehouse club chain BJ’s leapt 16.7 percent—although furniture and appliance sales were weak—while Costco’s comp-store sales soared 14 percent.
Target’s comp-store sales fell 1.2 percent, while Wal-Mart’s comp-store sales rose 3 percent, but fell short of expectations.
Although home was down during the month at Wal-Mart, the retailer’s new opening-price-point Canopy brand has been a strong seller.
“With the end of the [tax] stimulus checks, we know consumers are spending more cautiously,” Eduardo Castro Wright, U.S. president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart, said in a statement.