Retail Sales

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (PAC) Reports Decline in January Traffic Feb 9, 2010 05:31PM

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: PAC) announced today preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of January 2010 compared to traffic figures for January 2009.

During January 2010, total terminal passengers decreased 1.7% compared to the previous year; domestic passenger traffic decreased 2.6%, while international passenger traffic decreased 0.3% compared to January 2009.

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McDonald's (MCD) January Sales Rise Driven by International Operations Feb 9, 2010 10:59AM

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) announced on Tuesday that sales in overseas markets pushed overall sales up by 2.6 percent in January helping to offset the decline that was seen in the United States.
Same-store sales for the world's largest fast-food chain in the U.S. fell 0.7 percent, while in Europe, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa rose 4.3 percent.

Total sales for McDonald's rose 9.1 percent in January, rising 6.7 percent in Europe and 7.2 percent in the rest of the overseas market. A total sales decline of 0.1 percent was seen in the U.S. during the first month of the year.

McDonald's has traditionally been recession proof as a result of customers turning to the company's value menu items as a cheap alternative for dining. The company has started to feel the impact of the weak economy lately as competitors have been pushing their own value items in attempts to lure away some of McDonald's customers.

"As we raise the bar on our menu, convenience and value offerings, I am confident that we will exceed our customers' expectations again in 2010,” said Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's, Jim Skinner.

Nations like Great Britain and France outperformed others like Germany for McDonald's in the European market for January, while in Asia Japan and Australia showed significant growth as China was down due to the time of the country’s New Year.

The company also announced that it will take a $40 million to $50 million tax charge in the first half of 2010 due to the closing 430 Japanese stores.

Shares of McDonald’s are up 23 cents in early market movement on Tuesday to $63.15.

Rick’s Cabaret (RICK) Sees 20.75% Increase in Sales for January 2010 Feb 9, 2010 10:21AM

Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) said sales at its nightclubs in January rose 20.75 percent over January 2009, while same club sales climbed 14.65 percent over the previous January.

The company said sales at its clubs totaled $6.8 million for the month of January, compared with $5.6 million in the previous January.

Sales at clubs operated for more than a year were $6.3 million, compared with $5.5 million in the previous January.

Said Eric Langan, President and CEO of Rick’s Cabaret: “We are very pleased with our sales growth in January and are happy that our growth is continuing. We have now been able to cut back on the very expensive programs we used in the last quarter that helped us gain significant market share. We believe this will help us improve our margins in the current quarter, which has benefited from the Super Bowl in Miami and the upcoming NBA All-Star week in Dallas. We will discuss this in more detail in our conference call on February 16th.”

Conns Inc. (CONN) Sales Down 30.3% for January 2010 Feb 9, 2010 08:12AM

Conn’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) today announced its net sales results for the quarter ended January 31, 2010.

Net sales for the quarter ended January 31, 2010, of $171.0 million, decreased $74.5 million, or 30.3%, after achieving a 22.3% increase in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net sales represent total product sales, repair service agreement commissions and service revenues. Same store sales (sales recorded in stores operated for the entirety of both periods) decreased 31.7% for the quarter ended January 31, 2010, compared to a 12.5% increase in same store sales in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. The sales comparisons were impacted by:

• more challenging economic conditions in the Company’s markets during the quarter, as compared to the same quarter in the prior year,
  
  
• the benefit achieved during the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year as a result of the decline in performance of Circuit City,
  
  
• tightened credit underwriting standards implemented by the Company since the quarter ended January 31, 2009, and
  
• the sales benefit experienced in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year, as a result of the impact of the hurricanes in September 2008.

The Company improved its product gross margins to approximately 20% for the quarter ended January 31, 2010, as compared to the 18.5% experienced in the quarter ended October 31, 2009. Total revenues for the quarter, including revenues from finance charges and other, will be reported in the Company's earnings release and conference call scheduled for March 25, 2010.

The following is a summary of the key items impacting net sales during the quarter:

• The consumer electronics category sales declined as a result of an 18.7% drop in unit sales of flat-panel televisions, compared to a 43.6% increase in unit sales in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year, and declines in average selling prices. The unit sales decline was impacted by the timing of the Super Bowl, which occurred on February 1st last year and benefited television sales in the quarter ended January 31, 2009,
  
  
• The home appliance category sales declined during the quarter on lower unit sales in all appliance categories, though average selling prices increased slightly,
  
  
• Track sales declined despite increased unit sales of laptop and desktop computers and the introduction of netbooks, which were offset by declines in the average selling prices of computers and declines in sales of other small electronic and appliance products,
  
  
• The decline in furniture and mattresses sales, compared to the 28.5% increase in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year, was driven by the slower economic conditions in the Company’s markets,
  
  The decrease in other product sales was due primarily to lower deliveries, consistent with the declines in the product categories,
  
  
• The decline in repair service agreement commissions was driven largely by the decline in product sales. Additionally, increased cancellations of these agreements as a result of higher credit charge-offs reduced repair service agreement commissions, and
  
  
• Sales from four stores opened since November 1, 2008, including its new Pasadena, Texas, store opened in November 2009, reduced by the closures of the San Antonio and Baytown, Texas, clearance centers, partially offset the decrease in Total net sales.

Net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010, were $722.8 million, a decrease of $82.3 million, or 10.2%, as compared with the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Same store sales decreased 13.8% for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010.

McDonald's (MCD) Global Comps Up 2.6% in January Feb 9, 2010 07:59AM

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) same store sales rose 2.6% in January. US comps fell 0.7%, comps in Europe rose 4.3% and Asia/Pacific, Mideast, Africa comps rose 4.3%