Macy's November same-store sales fall

CINCINNATI - Department-store operator Macy's Inc. said Thursday that same-store sales fell 13.3 percent, hurt by fewer post-Thanksgiving shopping days during the period compared with last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected same-store sales to fall 12.1 percent. The Cincinnati-based company had predicted a low double-digit decline.

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.

Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 29 fell 14 percent to $2.33 billion from $2.71 billion last year.

Year-to-date, same-store sales fell 4.8 percent while total sales fell 6 percent to $19.29 billion from $20.43 billion a year ago.

The company said sales on the day after Thanksgiving were strong, but results were hurt by a later Thanksgiving, which lead to fewer post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping days compared with the prior year period.

Macy's said it still expects same-store sales during the fiscal fourth quarter ending in January to be down 1 percent to 6 percent.

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