Same Store

Despite a strong rise in catalog and retail sales at new stores, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said yesterday that its same-store sales decreased 1.5 percent for the quarter ended May 3 compared to the same period of 1996.Timothy F. Finley, chairman and chief executive officer, said he was pleased with the results, however, because the Hampstead-based company's total sales for the quarter were up 6.2 percent, to $38.7 million from $36.4 million in 1996."Overall they were pretty good," he said.

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., the struggling fashion retailer based in Joppa, said sales at its stores open for at least a year declined by 7 percent last month compared with November 1993. It was the company's best monthly "same-store" result this year.But the benchmark month from last year was extremely poor, as the chain was getting closer to declaring bankruptcy. Same-store sales in November 1993 fell by 23 percent compared with the same month in 1992, so the 7 percent drop announced yesterday still represents sharply lower revenue than what the company was garnering several years ago.Merry-Go-Round sought protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy law in January.

Riding a strong rebound in sales of men's suits and ties, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. yesterday reported a 19.3 percent increase in sales at stores open one year -- a key measure of performance -- for its fiscal third quarter.It was the fourth consecutive quarter of same-store-sales increases for the company that two years ago was fighting for its survival."We made a greater stride than anyone would have thought," said Timothy F. Finley, chairman and chief executive officer of the Hampstead-based apparel company.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ended one of its toughest years in more than a decade yesterday with a better-than-expected profit for the holiday quarter and a fairly upbeat forecast for this year. Even so, it finished the year with only a slight gain at stores open at least a year, 2.1 percent. That key measure of retail performance was the company's slowest since it began recording same-store sales increases in 1980. Investors, however, were buoyed by the news. "I would not be surprised if they're at a low point," said Victor Hawley, portfolio manager at Reed, Conner & Birdwell of Los Angeles, which holds about 850,000 shares in Wal-Mart worth about $42 million.

Weathering an assault on the apparel industry, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. reported yesterday another quarter of improving sales driven by that old standby -- tailored clothing.After introducing a line of men's casual wear less than a year ago to capture an emerging market, the Hampstead-based retailer is increasingly finding that suits are still a strong sale: For the first quarter, which ended May 4, men's sales in stores open at least a year -- a crucial gauge of performance -- jumped 8.6 percent over the same period last year.

Hechinger Co., the Landover-based home improvement chain, announced yesterday that it posted a respectable 4 percent gain in same-store sales during December.Although the increase failed to make up for all its losses from the year before, analysts described the result as positive and Hechinger's stock surged. But John Hechinger Jr., president and chief executive of the company, did not sugar-coat the news."Our 4 percent comparable-store sales increase for December reflects a comparison to a disappointing December of 1990, in which comparable-store sales were down 7 percent," he said in a statement.

Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. said yesterday that its same-store sales rose for the fourth consecutive month in May - although at a slower pace than in April - while its catalog and Internet sales jumped more than 50 percent from those of May 2001. Same-store sales, a key indicator of a retailer's health, rose 2 percent for the Hampstead-based men's clothier. In April, Bank's same-store sales were up 8 percent over sales in April 2001. Bank's combined catalog and Internet sales increased 52.2 percent last month, and its total sales for the month were $18.2 million, up 14.5 percent from May 2001's $15.9 million.

BENTONVILLE, Ark.- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s same-store sales rose 6.2 percent last month, more than the world's largest retailer had forecast, as it gained sales at the expense of department stores and grocery chains. The retailer said yesterday that sales in the four weeks that ended Friday rose 12 percent to $18.34 billion. Last month, Wal-Mart forecast a 4 percent to 6 percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year. Sales of seasonal items such as gardening equipment and summer clothing rose over the Memorial Day holiday as temperatures rose after falling below average in the first three weeks of the month, analysts said.

Silver Diner Inc., the Rockville-based diner chain, said yesterday that its losses grew substantially in the second quarter to $409,559, or 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of $248,137, or 2 cents a share, for the same period in 1996.The company acknowledged that it was disappointed with the earnings as well as a 5.8 percent drop in same-store sales in the 12 weeks ended July 13 and a plummeting stock price.Chairman Robert Giaimo blamed the losses on the company's fast growth -- it went from six restaurants to 10 in the past six months -- which he said drove up labor and advertising costs.

TROY, Mich. - Kmart Corp., the largest U.S. retailer to file for bankruptcy, said it had a loss of $137 million last month as same-store sales fell. The loss for the period that ended June 26 included reorganization expenses of $11 million for professional fees and $8 million in retention bonuses, Kmart said in a regulatory filing. That brings to $2.26 billion the discount retailer's loss since it filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 22. Same-store sales, excluding 283 stores that Kmart finished closing June 2, dropped 8.7 percent in the period that ended July 3. The discount retailer filed for Chapter 11 after a failed attempt to win business by matching the low prices of larger rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Sales at Wal-Mart stores open at least a year, called same-stores sales, rose 8.7 percent in June.