Stein Mart's Fall Sales Not Falling

By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA

Stein Mart reports increasing total, comparable store sales for September

Stein Mart reported September sales figures today for the five-week period ending October 5, 2013. The figures reveal that Stein Mart’s total sales for this period increased 7.3 percent and comparable store sales increased 5.0 percent. Total sales for this five-week period equaled $112.20 million, up from $104.60 million in total sales reported for the same five-week period in 2012. The company has undergone some major changes recently, including launching its e-commerce site and revamping internal systems. CIO Andrew Black stated at Oracle CrossTalk, “We have been making significant strides to improve legacy systems. This has led to better returns management and a reduction in fraud.”

All of the improvements seem to be working. Stein Mart has seen positive growth in their total sales since 2012. For this 9-week quarter-to-date, the company reports $195.50 million in total sales (up 5.70 percent), part of the $807.80 million in total sales this year-to-date (35 weeks). For the year, total sales have increased 4.20 percent. These increases are outpacing retail growth in general, which has remained fairly minimal, but is expected to pick up in the coming holiday season.

In addition, comparable store sales have increased since 2012. For the quarter-to-date, comparable store sales stand at 4.50 percent, up from 3.80 percent in 2012, and the year-to-date comparable store sales stand at 3.80 percent, up from 2012’s 1.30 percent, nearly tripling same-store growth. This is an excellent barometer for how retailers are doing, since it ignores boosts or drops due to store openings and closings.

Items posting the strongest sales in September included linens, ladies’ boutique, gifts, ladies’ career sportswear, and women’s. Compared to August, which saw strong sales from linens, ladies’ boutique, gifts, and dresses, dresses were replaced by womens’ clothing and ladies’ career sportswear in September. Items posting the weakest sales for September were ladies’ accessories, men’s furnishings, ladies’ casual sportswear, and petites. Items that posted weak sales in August, including ladies’ special sizes, men’s sportswear, and jewelry, are no longer included among the most challenged items.

The company also paid close attention to the sales geographically, claiming that September sales were strongest in Florida, the Southeast and California, while the Northeast and Midwest were the lowest performing locations. California –- which was on the lower end of the sales chain with the Midwest in August –- has since joined the higher performance end in September. California (Sacramento) was also one of the three locations to see a new Stein Mart store open during the month of September. New stores were also opened in Buford, GA and El Paso, TX, bringing the total number of operating stores for this year to 263.