Nordstrom's June same-store sales fall 10 percent

SEATTLE - Luxury department store chain Nordstrom Inc. said Thursday that its same-store sales fell 10 percent in June, but the results beat analysts' predictions of a steeper decline.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected an 11.4 percent drop.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key indicator of retailer performance since they measure growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Preliminary results for the five-week period that ended July 4 indicate that total retail sales fell 6.2 percent to $686 million.

Quarter-to-date same-store sales dropped 11.6 percent, while preliminary total sales slipped 7.4 percent to $1.34 billion for the quarter.

For the year-to-date period, same-store sales tumbled 12.5 percent, while total retail sales lost 8.4 percent to $3.05 billion.

The company noted that its annual 17-day anniversary sale starts on Friday, July 17. Historically, July has been the second-largest sales month of the year, the retailer said.

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