Sears Reports August Comparable Store Sales
Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) announced today that comparable domestic store revenues decreased 6.1 percent for the four weeks ended August 28, 2004. Total domestic store revenues were $1.91 billion for the four-week period in August 2004, down 7.1 percent compared with the four weeks ended August 30, 2003.
"We anticipated August would be a tough comparison for Sears from 2003, in part because of the absence of tax refunds this year, and the strong performance of our home appliance and lawn and garden businesses at this time last year," said Sears Chairman and CEO Alan J. Lacy. "While we experienced softer than expected back-to-school sales, we continue to look forward to the fall and holiday seasons as our teams improve the customer experience in our stores and enhance our merchandise offerings."
While the overall specialty store category reported comparable store sales decreases, Orchard Supply Hardware and The Great Indoors reported sales increases.
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Domestic Store Revenues & Comparable Store Revenues
(*According to National Retail Federation Fiscal Calendar.)
(**A store is considered to be comparable at the beginning of the 13th
month after the store is opened.)
Fiscal Period Ending Percent Change
August 28, August 30, All Comp
2004 2003 Stores Stores**
August $1,910,200,000 $2,056,900,000 -7.1% -6.1%
Year-to-Date* $14,430,700,000 $14,966,000,000 -3.6% -2.4%
The company has made available by phone a recorded message on sales performance of its domestic stores for August 2004. The message can be heard by calling (847) 286-6111 and will be available for approximately one week.
About Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. With revenues in 2003 of $41.1 billion, the company offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the U.S. and Canada, which includes approximately 870 full-line and 1,100 specialty stores in the U.S. Sears also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears is the only retailer where consumers can find each of the Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands' End brands together -- among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. The company is the largest provider of product repair services with more than 14 million service calls made annually.
SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.
CONTACT: News Media Contact, Chris Brathwaite, +1-847-286-4681, or
Investor Contact, Scott A. Bohaboy, +1-847-286-7419, both of Sears, Roebuck
and Co.
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