Beginning in September, the campaign will highlight nine items for women, including the cape, textured cardigan, opaque legs and high-heeled shoe booty. For men, it will spotlight tuxedos, turtlenecks, puffy vests, novel ties and - wait for it - "the gentleman's bag."
No snickering, please: Saks also reports that same-store sales skyrocketed 37.5% over year-earlier figures. Its upscale competitors - while still doing far better than department stores, other specialty stores and mass merchandisers -- didn't even come close. At Nordstrom, same-store sales increased 6.3% in May; at Neiman Marcus, sales gained 7.7%.
But lower-end department stores struggled. At J.C. Penney, comparable-store sales fell 2%. And Macy's - which recently replaced its CMO and is struggling with pricing strategies in many of its stores - says its same-store results fell 3.3%. The company says it will boost its promotional marketing efforts and is looking for improvements by June or July.
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Teen retailers also took a bruising. At Abercrombie & Fitch, same-store sales fell 5%, at Hot Topic, they fell 6.1%. Aeropostale managed a 1.9% gain, and at American Eagle Outfitters, teens snapped up some new merchandising ideas, raising comparable store results 5%.
At the Gap, sales fell 3%, while Limited increased 2%. It said Sales were up at Victoria's Secret, but that at its Bath & Body Works, Mother's Day sales were below expectations.
Target's results came in strong at 5.8% gain, while Wal-Mart sales were up 1.3%, primarily because of strength in its grocery and garden departments. And at the fast-expanding Kohl's, comparable-store sales jumped 10.5%, with broad gains in apparel, footwear and home furnishings.