The upscale department store chain also raised the lower limit of its annual forecast for comparable sales growth to 0% to 2% from 1%, after previously expecting a decline to an increase of 2%.
The Seattle, Washington-based company is looking to revitalize its business by focusing on high-demand categories like women’s clothing to boost its profit margins. It has also reduced discounts and is selling more items at full price.
“Anniversary sales were driven by new arrivals and fall fashions…including our Nordstrom private labels,” said President Pete Nordstrom.
The event, which ran from July 15 to August 4 this year, saw strong demand for sportswear brands such as On Holding, New Balance and Vuori, as well as beauty products.
Off-price brand Rack also increased sales and the company plans to open 12 more Rack stores in the country before the start of the holiday shopping season.
“Opening more Rack stores is a key part of Nordstrom’s current plan, so the positive sales certainly suggest that plan is working pretty well. … Merchandising is also probably working better at Rack,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz.
Nordstrom shares have fallen about 3% over the past month. Analysts cited muted demand during the sale period, and traffic numbers from Placer.ai suggest July was the weakest month of the quarter.
According to LSEG data, the company’s total revenue rose 3.2 percent to $3.89 billion in the quarter ended August 3 (compared to $3.77 billion a year earlier), almost in line with average analyst expectations of $3.90 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Nordstrom earned 96 cents per share compared to expectations of 71 cents.
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Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
