Strong Retail Sales Helps Drive Today's Gains


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March 1, 2012 1:15 PM EST Send to a Friend
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As it is the first Thursday of the month, coincidentally also the first of the month, retail companies reported their February retails figures. Following the release, the Spider S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is trading 1.43 percent higher. Auto sales were also reported today, similarly showing nice gains. The First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (Nasdaq: CARZ) is also trading up 1.15 percent today.

Figures for the month of were strong as only a few companies posted declining comparable store sales or total sales. The solid results go inline with recent jobless claims report , which also indicate an improving economy.

Within the Specialty Apparel Sector:
  • The Buckle (NYSE: BKE) reported sales of $86.7 million in February, an increase of 17.4%. Comps were up 14.8% for the month.
  • Cato Corporation (Nasdaq: CATO) reports sales of $83.9 million in February, a decrease of 3%. Comps were down 5% for the month.
  • The Gap (NYSE: GPS) reports sales of $874 million in February, an increase of 6%. Comps were up 4% for the month.
  • The Limited (NYSE: LTD) reports sales of $653.9 million in February, a decrease of 2.5%. Comps were up 8% for the month.
  • Ross Stores (Nasdaq: ROST) reports sales of $677 million in February, an increase of 14%. Comps were up 9% for the month.
  • Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) reports sales of $207.9 million in February, an increase of 6%. Comps were up 6.6% for the month.
  • Tandy Leather Factory (NYSE: TLF) reports sales of $5.8 million in February, an increase of 15%. Comps were up 20% for the month.
  • TJX Co. (NYSE: TJX) reports sales of $1.6 billion in February, an increase of 12%. Comps were up 9% for the month.
  • The Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) reports sales of $46.7 million in February, a decrease of 3%. Comps were down 5.8% for the month.
Within the General Merchandise Sector:
  • Bon-Ton (Nasdaq: BONT) reports sales of $199.4 million in February, an increase of 0.9%. Comps were up 0.7% for the month.
  • Costco (Nasdaq: COST) reports sales of $7.04 billion in February, an increase of 10%. Comps were up 8% for the month.
  • Duckwall-ALCO (Nasdaq: DUCK) reports sales of $36.5 million in February, an increase of 3.4%. Comps were up 1.1% for the month.
  • Fred’s (Nasdaq: FRED) reports sales of $159.1 million in February, an increase of 4%. Comps were down 0.7% for the month.
  • Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) reports sales of $1.17 billion in February, an increase of 1.1%. Comps were down 0.8% for the month.
  • Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reports sales of $1.86 billion in February, an increase of 5.5%. Comps were up 4.6% for the month.
  • Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reports sales of $704 million in February, an increase of 16.2%. Comps were up 10.2% for the month.
  • Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) reports sales of $477 million in February, an increase of 11.8%. Comps were up 10.3% for the month.
  • Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI) reports sales of $101 million in February, an increase of 7.1%. Comps were up 3.7% for the month.
  • SteinMart (Nasdaq: SMRT) reports sales of $80.7 million in February, an increase of 0.3%. Comps were up 0.7% for the month.
  • Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reports sales of $5.13 billion in February, an increase of 8%. Comps were up 7% for the month.
Within the Automotive Sector:
  • Chrysler Group LLC reported its February sales rose 40% as the number of vehicle deliveries increased from 95,102 to 133,521.
  • Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) posted a 14 percent increase in February U.S. sales versus year-ago levels, with 179,119 vehicles sold; retail sales increased 19 percent.
  • General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported total sales of 209,306 vehicles in February, up 1.1 percent compared with the company’s very strong February 2011 results.

  • Honda Motors (NYSE: HMC) reported unadjusted February vehicle sales rose 12%.

  • Nissan (OTC: NSANY) reports 15.5% rise in North American auto sales during February.


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