Macy’s, Inc. Same-Store Sales Down 0.7% in November

Company reiterates guidance for Q4 same-store sales to be up by approximately 4.2%

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) today reported total sales of $2.450 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 24, 2012, a decrease of 0.6 percent compared with total sales of $2.464 billion in the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011. On a same-store basis, Macy’s, Inc. sales were down 0.7 percent in November as compared to November 2011.

“Despite the largest-volume Thanksgiving weekend in our company’s history, we were not able to overcome the weak start to the month, which included the disruption of Hurricane Sandy. Yet we remain on track to deliver a very strong sales performance in the fourth quarter, consistent with our guidance”

“Despite the largest-volume Thanksgiving weekend in our company’s history, we were not able to overcome the weak start to the month, which included the disruption of Hurricane Sandy. Yet we remain on track to deliver a very strong sales performance in the fourth quarter, consistent with our guidance,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc.

“Going forward into the heart of the holiday season, we continue to be very enthusiastic about how our Omnichannel strategy is playing out, as was clearly evident during Thanksgiving week, into Black Friday weekend and through Cyber Monday. Our stores team has done an outstanding job preparing for the holidays and recovering the sales floors after periods of heavy customer traffic. Every aspect of our company has come together to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience whether they are shopping our stores, online, mobile or a combination of all three. Through store fulfillment, we now are using all of our inventory, no matter where it may be located in our system, to meet customer demand,” Lundgren said.

For the year to date, Macy’s, Inc. sales totaled $20.786 billion, up 3.2 percent from total sales of $20.145 billion in the first 43 weeks of 2011. On a same-store basis, Macy’s, Inc.’s year-to-date sales were up 3.1 percent.

Online sales (macys.com and bloomingdales.com combined) were up 39.2 percent in November and 37.1 percent in 2012 year-to-date. Online sales are included in the same-store sales calculation for Macy's, Inc.

Macy’s, Inc. reiterated its guidance (provided on Nov. 7) for fourth quarter sales and earnings. The company expects same-store sales in the fourth quarter to be up by approximately 4.2 percent. Fourth quarter earnings per diluted share are expected in the range of $1.94 to $1.99, excluding costs associated with the previously announced debt tender offer.

Macy’s, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation’s premier retailers, with fiscal 2011 sales of $26.4 billion. The company operates about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also operates 12 Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores.

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Macy’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this release because of a variety of factors, including conditions to, or changes in the timing of, proposed transactions, prevailing interest rates and non-recurring charges, competitive pressures from specialty stores, general merchandise stores, off-price and discount stores, manufacturers’ outlets, the Internet, mail-order catalogs and television shopping and general consumer spending levels, including the impact of the availability and level of consumer debt, the effect of weather and other factors identified in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(NOTE: Additional information on Macy’s, Inc., including past news releases, is available at www.macysinc.com/pressroom).