Dillard's April same-store sales fall on weakness in East

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Department store Dillard's Inc., said Thursday its same-store sales fell 4 percent in April on softer sales in the Eastern region and weak home and furniture sales.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected a same-store sales increase of 0.2 percent.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Total sales for the four weeks ended May 3 dropped 3 percent, to $476.8 million.

The month contained one more shopping day than the prior-year period due to the Easter holiday falling in March rather than April, Dillard's said.

Same-store sales for the 13-week period ended May 3 slipped 6 percent, while total sales dipped 5 percent to $1.68 billion.

Dillard's has stores in 29 states.

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