Retailers report mixed November results

Discounters' results ease holiday outlook

A customer checks out at a Target store in Lombard, Ill., yesterday. Results from Target and Family Dollar Stores fell short of expectations. (M. Spencer Green/Associated Press)

NEW YORK - Many US retailers reported stronger-than-expected November sales yesterday, helped by a post-Thanksgiving rush and discounts, but some notable misses and a shift in the retail calendar tempered analysts' enthusiasm about the strength of the key holiday season.

About 52 percent of retailers reported same-store sales that topped Wall Street expectations, while 45 percent missed forecasts, according to research firm Retail Metrics. More post-Thanksgiving shopping days in the monthly retail reporting calendar boosted some same-store sales figures, but will deflate some results in December, helping to disguise the month's true winners and losers.

Results from discounters Target Corp., and Family Dollar Stores Inc. fell short of expectations, as more consumers - and not just those with low incomes - tightened their wallets in the face of rising food and fuel costs, increasing mortgage rates and tighter credit.

Excluding the calendar shift, luxury chains such as Saks Inc., Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom Inc. performed the best, said Lazard Capital Markets analyst Todd Slater, as they have been much of this year. The difference is taking place in middle class spending, he said.

"The high end is shopping, the middle is trading down and everyone continues to buy their paper towels and Fruit Loops," Slater wrote, referring to the daily staples that many consumers are prioritizing over discretionary buys.

Target, whose shares closed down more than 7 percent yesterday, said November sales at stores open at least a year, adjusted for the shift, rose 1.1 percent, below its forecast range of 2 to 4 percent.

Discount rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said US same-store sales rose 1.5 percent in November, and results were "solid" as the holiday rush got underway. It forecast a US same-store sales gain of 1 to 3 percent for December.