|
Sales at Macy's stores open at least a year, including sales in
departments licensed to third parties, fell 4.6 percent in the
first quarter.
That was steeper than the 3.5 percent drop expected by analysts
polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.
Macy's merchandise inventories were up 4.2 percent in the
quarter, pressuring margins.
In contrast, a leaner inventory and lower costs helped rival
Kohl's Corp <KSS.N> report a better-than-expected quarterly
profit earlier on Thursday.
However, Kohl's shares were also down 2.6 percent in premarket
trading, as its sales and comparable-store sales also fell more
than expected.
Kohl's, Macy's and rivals such as J.C. Penney Co Inc <JCP.N> are
struggling with declining mall traffic and tough online
competition, and are trying to cope by cutting costs through
store closures, selling or leasing their real estate and keeping
inventory levels low.
Net income attributable to Macy's shareholders fell to $71
million, or 23 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 29,
from $116 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 24 cents per share, well
below the 35 cents analysts on average had expected, according
to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales fell 7.5 percent to $5.34 billion, falling for the
ninth straight quarter and missing the average analyst estimate
of $5.47 billion.
(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
