News Analysis of U.S. Retail Industry April 2009 Same Store Sales Figures

Positive Returns Increase, Executive Excuses Decrease, Wal-Mart Stops Playing

There were many positive returns this month when the top U.S. retail industry companies reported their same store sales figures. The complete April, 2009 same store sales list revealed a definite increase in plus signs and smaller numbers behind the minus signs. The press releases and executive statements accompanying the sales figures revealed a definite decrease in creative excuses from company executives and spokespersons. The announcement that Wal-Mart will no longer play the monthly reporting game revealed a definite possibility that monthly same store sales reports may have a limited lifespan.

Personally I look forward to the release of same store sales figures because I find the explanations given by the designated spokespersons of the month to be highly entertaining. In April, we were treated to these words of wisdom:

• "With a challenging economic environment, the consumer continues to show a reluctance to spend on premium brands; a price consciousness dictating shopping habits unlike anything I have ever seen.” - Mike Jeffries, Abercrombie CEO
• “We expect consumer spending and mall traffic to remain weak, which will be particularly evident against tough comparisons in the second quarter.” - Mike Ullman, JCPenney CEO
• "Retail sales for big-ticket home furnishings remain difficult as consumers look to conserve cash because of continued economic uncertainty." - Clarence Smith, Haverty’s CEO
• "As expected, our April results were negatively affected by the move of our spring 12 hour sale into March this year. However, the combined March-April period resulted in a (6.4) percent comparable store sales decrease, which represents a marked improvement over sales trends during the past year, even while we continue to hold inventories at a significantly reduced level." - David Stovall, Stein Mart CEO

Holy corporate doublespeak, Batman. I think we can boil all of this rhetoric down to one simple statement: “They’re just not that into you.”

Wouldn’t it be great fun if we were ever treated to a monthly sales report that contained this kind of statement? “Retail sales were down last month because customers were just not that into us,” the CEO said with a shrug before thanking reporters and analysts and leaving the podium. Wouldn’t it be even more fun if the investment community would allow that kind of simple truth to be told?

More about April's same store sales numbers...