Dresses & Accessories perform well at Ross Stores

08 Aug '08

2 min read

Ross Stores Inc reported sales of $499 million for the four weeks ended August 2, 2008, an 11% increase over the $450 million in sales for the four weeks ended August 4, 2007. Same store sales for the four weeks ended August 2, 2008 rose 4% from the prior year period.

For the 13 weeks ended August 2, 2008, sales were $1.640 billion, a 14% increase over the $1.445 billion in sales reported for the 13 weeks ended August 4, 2007. Comparable store sales for the 13 weeks ended August 2, 2008 rose 6%.

For the six months ended August 2, 2008, sales increased 12% to $3.197 billion, up from $2.855 billion for the six months ended August 4, 2007. Comparable store sales for the six months ended August 2, 2008 grew 5%.

Michael Balmuth, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our July same store sales results were at the high end of our forecast for a 2% to 4% increase. Our solid performance for the month and the quarter was driven mainly by our ability to offer compelling bargains on fresh and exciting name brand fashions for the family and the home.

We believe that the tax rebate checks and favorable weather also benefited sales somewhat during the quarter. For July, Dresses, Accessories and Home were the strongest merchandise categories, while Texas and the Mid-Atlantic were the best-performing markets."

Mr. Balmuth continued, "Based on our above plan sales and favorable gross margin trends in the second quarter, we now estimate that earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended August 2, 2008 will be $.53 to $.54, compared to our prior range of $.51 to $.53, and $.37 for the second quarter ended August 4, 2007.

Looking ahead, we plan to provide sales and earnings guidance for the back half of the year with our second quarter earnings release and conference call on Wednesday, August 20th."

Ross Stores Inc

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