Target's November Sales Decline - Analyst Blog
30 Novembre 2012 - 11:10AM
Zacks
Target Corporation
(TGT), the operator of general merchandise and food discount stores
in the United States, registered a 1% decline in comparable store
sales (comps) for November 2012, reflecting a decrease in
comparable-store transactions. Moreover, sales were below an
escalation of 1.8% marked in November 2011.
The company witnessed soft sales
during the first two weeks of the month, while sales picked up
later in the month. Alongside, the company registered weak sales in
the Northeast region which was affected by Superstorm Sandy.
However, sales remained strong in the south.
Category wise, Target reported
solid sales in Food, with health and beauty increasing in the low
single-digit. The company stated that sales in home and apparel
category decreased in the low single-digit, while hardlines
witnessed a decline in the mid single digits.
Year-to-date, Target’s sales
augmented 3.8% to $55.8 billion, while same-store sales increased
3.2%.
Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Target
Corporation announced that net retail sales for November inched
down 0.1% to $6,183 million from $6,191 million reported in the
year-ago period.
In general, the November sales data
of retailers remained largely affected by the storm as most of the
retailers witnessed soft sales during the month. Comps results for
retailers such as Macy’s Inc (M),
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) and Kohl’s
Corporation (KSS) witnessed a downfall of 0.7%, 1.1% and
5.6%, respectively.
Going forward, Target’s efficient
marketing, multi-channel strategy, innovative product offering,
compelling pricing strategy and new merchandise assortments are
expected to drive comparable store sales and operating margins over
the long term.
We expect the company to gain
market share, and believe that the focus on consumable items should
boost sales. The company expects low single-digit increase in
December comparable store sales.
Currently, we prefer to have a
long-term ‘Neutral’ recommendation on the stock. Moreover, Target
holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term ‘Hold’
rating.
NORDSTROM INC (JWN): Free Stock Analysis Report
KOHLS CORP (KSS): Free Stock Analysis Report
MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
TARGET CORP (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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