Macy's October same-store sales fall 6.3 percent

CINCINNATI - Department store operator Macy's Inc. said Thursday that same-store sales fell 6.3 percent in October and are likely to drop in both the third and fourth quarters in the tough retail environment.

Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 1 fell 7 percent to $1.72 billion from $1.85 billion last year.

Department stores, including Macy's, have been among the hardest hit in the retail sector as consumers cut back. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key measure of retailer performance, because they measure growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

For the third quarter, same-store sales fell 6 percent while total sales fell 7 percent to $5.5 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected sales of $5.5 billion.

Macy's said it continues to expect same-store sales in the fall season, or the third and fourth quarter combined, will be down 3 percent to 6 percent, but added that same-store sales in the fourth quarter could be down anywhere between 1 percent and 6 percent given third-quarter results.

Due to a calendar shift, Macy's expects same-store sales to fall in the low double digits in November.

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