NEW YORK, NY So far so good. I must say that I’m very impressed. When I woke up at 3:50 AM EST equity futures were sinking hard and fast. Then, there was this slow but determined effort to lift equities in the absence of news and in the shadow of the President’s big address tonight. The market seems ignorant of the possibility that the President may come out swinging in such a way as to have negative ramifications on big business and high earners.

Macy’s stock has gone from $6 to $16 since March

Profile – Macy’s, Inc.

Macy’s is a department store retailer offering apparel and accessories for men, women, and children, as well as cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. As of Aug 29, 2009 the Company operated a total of 851 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico including 762 full-line stores and 89 Home/Furniture/Clearance stores, with 811 Macy’s stores and 40 Bloomingdale’s stores.

Industry Department Stores
2008 Net Sales $24.892 Billion, 5.4% YoY decrease
2008 E-Commerce Sales $1 Billion, 29% YoY increase
2008 Net Income -$4.803 Billion
Store Count* 851
Total Store Sq Ft* 154,884,000
Total Employees** 167,000
*as of 8/29/09 **as of 1/31/09

Monthly Same-Store Sales Summary – August 2009

Macy’s reported a decline of 8.5% in net sales and an 8.1% decrease in same-store sales on top of a 4.8% decline in the same period last year.

They have now reported 16 consecutive months as well as 9 straight quarters of negative same-store sales results.

For the month, online sales, which are included in the overall same-store sales calculation, were up 15.1% from last August, and are up 13.0% for the year to date.

Check their August retail sales report below—Impressive!

Limited Brands

Profile – Limited Brands, Inc.
Limited Brands is a specialty retailer of women’s intimate, apparel, beauty, personal care products, and accessories. Brands include Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, La Senza, Henri Bendel, and White Barn Candle Company. As of Aug 29, 2009 the company operated 3,014 stores in the US & Canada, with 1,049 Victoria’s Secret stores, 1,653 Bath & Body Works stores, 306 La Senza stores, and 6 Henri Bendel stores.

Industry Apparel & Accessories Stores
Sector Women’s Retail
2008 Net Sales $9.043 Billion, 10.8% YoY decrease
2008 Direct Sales*** $1.619 Billion, 9.7% YoY increase
2008 Net Income $220.0 Million, 69.4% YoY decrease
Store Count* 3,014
Total Selling Sq Ft** 10.898.000
Total Employees** 90,900
*as of 8/29/09 **as of 1/31/09 ***online & catalog sales

Monthly Same-Store Sales Summary – August 2009

Limited reported a decrease of 4.6% in net sales and a 4.0% decline in overall same-store sales on top of a 7% decrease in the same period last year.

They have now reported 24 consecutive months and 8 straight quarters of negative same-store sales.

Results by segment were: Victoria’s Secret Stores -5%,

Victoria’s Secret Direct -14%,

Bath & Body Works -1%, and La Senza -9%
.
The company said retail inventories per sq ft are down 6% from last year and down 25% over a two-year period.

Limited expects the same-stores sales decline for September to be in the low to mid single digits.

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