In last year's June period, comparable department store sales increased 4.3 percent and Direct sales increased 6.0 percent. This year's five-week June period ends July 7, 2007, last year it ended July 1, 2006. The June period this year excludes Memorial Day and includes Independence Day.
Consistent with initial expectations, July sales should exceed recent trends as a result of an additional week of Back-to-School sales in the period, due to the fiscal calendar shift. Consequently, comparable department store sales are expected to increase low- to mid-double digits and Direct sales are expected to increase high-single digits for the month.
Share Repurchase Update:
During the May period, the Company repurchased 3.4 million shares of its common stock at a cost of approximately $271 million. This represents approximately 68 percent of the existing share repurchase authorization.
marketing@alchempro.com
