Cato blames April sales slump on early Easter

Charlotte-based Cato Corp. said April sales fell as the timing shift of Easter drew more customers to stores in March, boosting that month’s sales.

For the four weeks that ended May 2, the Charlotte-based fashion retailer said Thursday that sales fell to $84.1 million, a 10 percent drop compared with the same period in 2014. For stores open at least one year, sales fell 14 percent.

The company said last month it anticipated April sales would be “unfavorably impacted” by the early timing of Easter this year (April 5) compared with last year (April 20). In March, Cato’s sales rose 15 percent.

“Because of this shift, the best measure for performance is the combined sales for the two months, which increased 3 percent overall and were flat to the prior year on a same-store basis,” the company said in a statement.

Cato also said Thursday that first quarter sales fell to $281.6 million, representing a less than 1 percent decline over the previous year. Same-store sales for the quarter fell 3 percent. The retailer will report full first quarter results on May 21.

In the statement, John Cato, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said the company revised its quarterly earnings guidance to $1.08 to $1.10 a share compared with $1.04 last year, “primarily due to lower incentive compensation expenses and a favorable tax adjustment.”

Cato’s 2014 earnings were the third highest in company history, though the retailer said it anticipates the weather-related slowdown at the start of this year could weigh on 2015 earnings.

In April, Cato opened three new stores: in Miami; Stuart, Fla.; and Montgomery, Ala. As of May 2, the retailer operated 1,352 stores in 32 states, which is 28 more than the same time in 2014.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 7:55 AM with the headline "Cato blames April sales slump on early Easter."