Target December Sales Weak So Far, Costco “Pretty Good”
Yesterday (Monday) after the close, in its mid month sales update, Target (TGT) said that same store sales for December, on a comparable basis, would likely come in between -1% and 1% – below previous guidance (call 612-761-6500 for the recorded message).
That comes on the heels of a weak November, in which comparable sales were up 1.1% and a weak September as well. (October same store sales were up 4.1% but included the week of Halloween where the previous year didn’t).
The New York Times had an interesting article on Target’s problems yesterday: “How the Cooling Economy Is Stealing Target’s Christmas”.
On the other hand, in an interview yesterday Costco’s (COST) CFO said that holiday sales were “pretty good” (subscription required).