Nordstrom Inc. was among a host of national retailers that on Thursday reported positive earnings for the holiday season.
The Seattle-based high-end department store chain reported a 7.4 percent increase in same-store sales for the five-week period ending Jan. 2 compared with the same five-week period in 2009. Nordstrom, which operates a store at Westfield Vancouver mall, reported sales of $1.25 billion for December, up 10.8 percent from last year. Quarter-to-date same-store sales increased 5.4 percent.
The list of other retailers reporting positive holiday sales includes Minneapolis-based discount-store operator Target Corp., which said better-than-expected customer traffic helped its December sales rise. Sales in stores open at least a year rose 1.8 percent, and total sales rose 5 percent to $9.74 billion during the five weeks through Jan. 2 over the same period a year ago.
Sales at New York-based department-store chain Macy’s were up 1 percent in December over the same month a year ago, a bit higher than the 0.8 percent estimate.
Issaquah-based warehouse-club chain Costco said higher gasoline prices and a weaker dollar contributed to a 9 percent gain last month over the previous December.
At San Francisco-based The Gap Inc., parent to The Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy apparel chains, December sales rose 2 percent over the same month a year ago.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that retailers in general saw “modest sales increases and a rush of last minute shoppers.” Retailers posted an average 2.9 percent sales increase in December compared with the like month a year earlier, beating expectations for a 2 percent gain, according to Thomson Reuters’ tally of 30 major chain stores.
Industry watchers are still guarded about what’s to come, said the Times, now that the holidays are over. With little incentive to hit the malls and spend, and economic woes continuing to constrain consumer spending, merchants could hit a lull in January, the report said.
Excluding drugstores, all retail sectors beat sales expectations last month. Discounters posted a 5.3 percent increase; apparel sellers saw a 4.7 percent rise; and even the beleaguered department store sector reported a 0.7 percent gain. All told, three-fourths of retailers did better than expected, with healthy performances coming from both low-priced and luxury sellers.
