Retailers Give Mixed Read on Consumer Spending
November 19 2019 - 9:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang and Patrick Thomas
Retailers gave a mixed read on consumer spending heading into
the key holiday season with department store chain Kohl's Corp. and
Home Depot Inc. reporting weak sales, but discounter TJX Cos.
continuing to log strong sales.
Kohl's said comparable sales increased 0.4% from a year ago in
the quarter ended Nov. 2, after several quarters of declines but
less than Wall Street expected. Executives said the chain was
entering the holiday period with momentum, but lowered their profit
forecasts for the rest of the year.
"The quarter started off positive in August with another
successful back-to-school season and ended strong in October," said
Kohl's Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass.
TJX, parent of the TJ Maxx and HomeGoods chains, reported a 4%
jump in comparable sales in the quarter ended Nov. 2 and raised its
profit forecasts for the rest of the year. Executives cited strong
traffic to its stores and an abundance of merchandise that the
off-price chain can buy to fill its stores.
"We are seeing fantastic, widespread availability of quality,
branded merchandise and are in a great position to capitalize on
these opportunities," CEO Ernie Herrman said.
Meanwhile, Home Depot lowered its sales forecast for the year
Tuesday after third-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street
expectations. Same-store sales were up 3.6% for the period ending
Nov. 3, below the 4.7% analysts were expecting.
Shares of Home Depot, which have rallied about 40% this year,
were off about 4% during premarket trading. Shares of Kohl's fell
about 13% in premarket trading, while TJX gained about 1%.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com and Patrick
Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 19, 2019 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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