Wal-Mart Weathers Presidents Day Storms
NEW YORK - As two top retailers restated their February sales forecasts due to business lost to severe winter storms on Presidents Day, Wal-Mart left its forecasts unchanged, according to Reuters.
Because of storms that deposited as much as two feet of snow in many areas of the Northeast, many businesses failed to open at all on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, a national holiday and traditional sale occasion. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said weather-related disruptions hurt sales so much in the week ended Feb. 21 that they had reduced their sales forecasts for the full month.
Wal-Mart, too, was hurt by the storms, but the company said that sales recovered as the week went on. In a recorded statement, Bentonville, Ark-based Wal-Mart said U.S. same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were running at low end of its target for an increase of 2 percent to 4 percent for the full month.
Wal-Mart said food items were among the strongest-selling product categories, which also included electronics, outerwear, pet supplies, and hardware -- all supplies used by people holed up in their homes or bracing for low temperatures.
Wal-Mart said customer traffic was down in the latest week, but the dollar value of the average transaction was up.
Because of storms that deposited as much as two feet of snow in many areas of the Northeast, many businesses failed to open at all on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, a national holiday and traditional sale occasion. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said weather-related disruptions hurt sales so much in the week ended Feb. 21 that they had reduced their sales forecasts for the full month.
Wal-Mart, too, was hurt by the storms, but the company said that sales recovered as the week went on. In a recorded statement, Bentonville, Ark-based Wal-Mart said U.S. same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were running at low end of its target for an increase of 2 percent to 4 percent for the full month.
Wal-Mart said food items were among the strongest-selling product categories, which also included electronics, outerwear, pet supplies, and hardware -- all supplies used by people holed up in their homes or bracing for low temperatures.
Wal-Mart said customer traffic was down in the latest week, but the dollar value of the average transaction was up.