Late holiday US sales boost
Target sees stronger sales in final days before Christmas
December 30 2003
As in the UK, retailers in the US saw stronger sales in the last few days before Christmas.
US discount retailer Target echoed the experience of rival Wal-Mart, announcing a strong last minute sales burst. Like-for-like sales in the week to Saturday December 27 were ahead of plan at both Target stores and for the entire corporation, which includes the Mervyn’s and Marshall Field’s department stores.
However, like-for-like sales at its core Target discount store chain are still at the lower end of its expectations for December as a whole, and below plan for the corporation as a whole.
Target stores’ best-selling products during Christmas week were pharmacy, entertainment, domestics, household, personal and baby goods. The weakest sellers included menswear, womenswear, and home decor. Target also saw strong sales of gift cards, which do not appear on the bottom line until the cards are redeemed.
Merrill Lynch analyst Daniel Barry said: “We believe that most retailers were in line or slightly above plan for the fourth week of December, boosted by pent-up demand caused by two snow storms earlier in the month and the trend toward later buying in the Christmas season.”
