3/7/2013
By David Urani

A number of February retail same store sales results came in today and on balance you'd have to say they are pretty underwhelming and that's been somewhat of a trend so far this year. In a way you can't really blame consumers for having been cautious through February, with payroll taxes taking an extra 2% out of income and with the timing of tax refunds holding back purchases.

Beat Consensus
• PriceSmart (PSMT) +8.9% vs. 6.5% expected
• Costco (COST) +6.0% vs. +4.6% expected
• Gap (GPS) +3.0% vs. +2.3% expected
• Limited Brands (LTD) +3.0% vs. +2.8% expected
• Fred's (FRED) -1.5% vs. -1.7% expected
• Buckle (BKE) -1.1% vs. -2.3% expected
• Cato (CATO) -3.0% vs. -5.0% expected

Missed Consensus
• Zumiez (ZUMZ) -8.9% vs. -1.3% expected
• Rite Aid (RAD) -3.6% vs. -1.0% expected
• Ross Stores (ROST) -1.0% vs. +1.3% expected
• Stein Mart (SMRT) +0.6% vs. +0.7% expected

As you can see, even a lot of the companies that beat expectations still posted negative comps anyway, and among the biggest year over year comps the magnitudes overall weren't all that impressive. The most impressive gain came from PriceSmart, which is a Latin American retailer.

Nevertheless various apparel companies, including teen retailers like Abercrombie (ANF), Aeropostale (ARO) are getting a lift, helped by the takeover of Hot Topic (HOTT) by Sycamore Partners at a 30% premium.

David Urani
Wall Street Strategies