Furniture store sales dip in Aug., up 2.1% for yr.
By Kay Anderson -- Furniture Today, November 6, 2006
High Point — Tracking the decline in the housing market, sales at U.S. furniture and home furnishings stores sales slipped 0.3% in August, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. For the year, sales in furniture stores were up 2.1%.
Sales of furniture and bedding through all retail channels, however, were up 5.4% through August according to the DOC, indicating that consumers may not be spending much more in furniture stores, but they do appear to be spending.
More recent sales numbers from September are available from 62 major retailers and summarized in the Johnson Redbook Flash Report. Cheered by lower gas prices and more disposable income, consumers flocked to the malls in September, boosting same-store sales by 4% for the month. That topped the 2.9% increase in August.
Leading the pack was The Children's Place, where same-store sales jumped 20%, followed by Kohl's at 16.3%.
Havertys' September same-store sales increased 6.4%. On a comparable-store basis, sales increased 5% for the first nine months.
"A much better in-stock position relative to last year continues to allow for faster and more reliable scheduling of home deliveries to our customers," said Clarence Smith, Havertys president and CEO. "An extra Saturday in this year's September calendar also contributed to our favorable results. Our total written sales for the month were up over September last year by a low single-digit percentage, with weakness evident after strong increases for Labor Day week end."
Pier 1 Imports' same-store sales fell 10.1% in the five-week reporting period ended Sept. 30. The retailer's same-store sales have been trending downward for more than 18 months.
Other same-store sales reports:
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Federated Department Stores jumped 6.2%, ahead of the August increase of 3.8%.
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Nordstrom's, up 11.5%, more than twice the size of its August increase of 4.7%.
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Saks Fifth Avenue, up 10%, triple the August gain
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JCPenney, up 8.7%, following an anemic gain of 0.7% the prior month.
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Target, up 6.7% compared with 2.8% in August.
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Wal-Mart, up 1.3% in September, half of August's 2.7% increase.
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Costco, up 4% vs. 7% last month.
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Sam's Club, up 1.1% vs. 3.4% in August.
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BJ's, down by 0.9%, reversing a 2.3% increase in August. BJ's said residential furniture was one of its weakest categories compared with 2005 sales.
