Fred’s reports November, YTD sales

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred’s on Thursday released its November sales results, along with its year-to-date sales figures. The results hit the midpoint of the guidance the company provided when discussing its earnings last week, according to CEO Jerry Shore. 

 

For the month, the company saw total sales of $166 million, up 8% from 154.1 million in the same period in 2014. Excluding sales from 2014 sales that came from 47 since-closed stores, the sales increase was 14%. Comparable store sales grew 1.7% — an improvement over the last year’s 2.3% comps decrease. 

 

Shore said that the company’s general merchandise deparments improved, driven by holiday gift sales, and that pharmacy deparment sales were a little lower than expected, partially due to a dip in specialty pharmacy sales during the week of Thanksgiving. Shore expected those sales to shift into the first week of December. 

 

“We are pleased with our team's continued efforts and hard work to implement our strategies and initiatives, which have led to the improvement in comparable store sales over the past several months,” Shore said. “The sales results for November give us added confidence in our operating and merchandising plan for the remainder of the holiday season.”

 

For the year-to-date, the company has had sales of $1.762 billion — an 8% increase over the same period last year, which includes a 1.5% increase in comps (up from a 1% decline last year). Without 47 closed locations’ sales that were included in 2014’s figures, Fred’s total sales increased 13% for the first 10 months of the year.