Nordstrom January key sales figure rises 14 percent in January, a bigger jump than expected

Nordstrom January sales rise 14 percent

SEATTLE — Luxury department store chain Nordstrom Inc. said Thursday that sales in its stores that had been open at least a year rose 14 percent in January, much more than analysts expected.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected sales in stores open at least one year to rise 5.5 percent.

Total sales for the four-week period that ended Jan. 30 rose 16 percent to $543 million from $468 million.

Sales at stores open at least a year are a key measure of retailer performance because they measure growth at existing stores and exclude those that open or close during the year.

For the full fourth quarter, the figure rose 6.9 percent, while total sales rose 10 percent to $2.54 billion.

For the year, sales in stores open at least a year fell 4.2 percent, while total sales were nearly flat at $8.26 billion.

The company’s strongest regions were the Northeast, Midwest and Northern California.

Selling best were women’s shoes, junior women’s apparel and hand bags.

Sales were strongest during the last two weeks of the month, Nordstrom officials said in a prerecorded sales call.

The average number of transactions grew for the fifth month in a row.

Nordstrom Inc. runs 112 full-line stores and 72 Nordstrom Rack off-price stores and other stores.

Company shares fell 44 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $35.61, as part of a broader market sell-off Thursday.