Bon-Ton September revenue figure rises

YORK, Pa. -- Department store operator Bon-Ton Stores said Thursday that a key revenue figure rose 0.6 percent in September as it tightly managed its inventory and marketing efforts.

Total revenue for the five weeks ended Sept. 29 rose 0.7 percent to $288.9 million.

Year-to-date, revenue in stores open at least one year fell 0.1 percent, while total sales edged down 0.2 percent to $1.71 billion.

This metric is a key indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

The best performing categories included jewelry, sportswear, dresses, shoes and women's large sizes. E-commerce sales rose in the double digits.

Bon-Ton, which has corporate offices in York, Pa., and Milwaukee, runs 272 department stores in the Northeast, Midwest and Great Plains states.

Its shares fell 20 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $11.76 in premarket trading.