Wal-Mart Says April Is 'Cool'

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) has acknowledged that same-store sales for April have been coming in at the low end of its monthly plan, as warm-weather items lingered on shelves. The retailer's sales last year benefited from a heat wave that has so far failed to reappear this year.

The world's largest retailer said its April forecast was for 5-7 percent growth. “Overall Easter sales were OK,” Wal-Mart said in a message for investors. “However, warm weather-related items were soft.”

A year ago, same-store sales of fans, air conditioners, summer apparel and other seasonal items were increasing at high double-digit rates, the company said. That is largely because 2002 temperatures were in the 90s, whereas last week's weather was merely “seasonal.”

On the other hand, rival Target Corp. (Minneapolis) said the Easter holiday drove stronger-than-expected sales during the week. Target said its discount same-store sales came in above its growth forecast of 4-6 percent for the week ended April 19, 2003, and were within that range for the month to date, buoyed by robust holiday merchandise, toys and stationery sales.

But Target said its company-wide sales, which include its Mervyn's and Marshall Field's divisions, are still slightly below its April plan for a 3-5 percent increase.

Other retail heavyweights have reported drab April results. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas) said its sales were declining more than it had expected though it said all Easter clothing categories sold well.

And Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati) said it expects a 2-3 percent same-store sales decline two weeks into the reporting period.

Easter fell on April 20 this year, compared with March last year, a shift that retailers had expected would boost April sales.