CHICAGO (Reuters) – Record snow along the U.S. East Coast and other regions likely muted retail sales in February, limiting increases in what was expected to be an easy month for retailers who report sales this week to show big gains over last year.
Retailers that were likely hit the hardest by the storms, based on location of their stores, include BJ’s Wholesale Club <BJ.N>, Kohl’s Corp <KSS.N>, Target Corp <TGT.N> and to some extent Macy’s Inc <M.N>, according to Planalytics Inc, which provides weather information for businesses.
“You’ve got records set all over the place,” Scott Bernhardt, Planalytics’ chief operating officer said, referring to snowfall in places like Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., that shut down those cities for a time. Even Manhattan was blanketed by heavy snow on February 10 and February 25.
“Last year at this time, especially in the East and Southeast, it was basically spring,” Bernhardt added.
Retailers with more concentration in the western part of the country may have done relatively well, analysts said, citing department store chain Nordstrom Inc <JWN.N> and Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O>.
Analysts on average forecast a 2.8 percent increase in same-store sales for 28 retailers that report monthly sales, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The forecast has already dropped from a 3.2 percent increase predicted last week and compares with a 4.7 percent decline in 2009.
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