Target Reports A Notably Weak September
Here are Target’s (TGT) monthly same store sales comps for the last year (Target Releases):
Sept 07 1.2%
Aug 07 6.1%
Jul 07 6.1%
Jun 07 3.3%
May 07 5.8%
Mar and Apr 07 3.0% (See this post for why I’m combining March and April)
Feb 07 5.7%
Jan 07 5.1%
Dec 06 4.1%
Nov 06 5.9%
Oct 06 3.9%
Sept 06 6.7%
Aug 06 2.8%
Jul 06 3.1%
Jun 06 4.8%
May 06 5.7%
In other words, this looks like the weakest month for Target in a long, long time.
Because Target is such a loved and excellent operator, I think it’s sales are much more indicative of the overall retail environment than Walmart which is subject, in my opinion, to a lot of company specific problems (see, for example, this perceptive front page WSJ article, “Walmart Era Wanes Amid Big Shifts In Retail” (subscription required)).