Fred’s says sales at stores open at least a year climb 2 percent in Feb., beating analyst view

Fred’s posts growth in key Feb. sales metric

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Retailer Fred’s Inc. said Thursday that its sales at stores open at least a year climbed 2 percent in February as customers headed to its stores to take advantage of advertised promotions.

This was much better than the 0.3 percent decline that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast. Sales at stores open at least a year are seen as a key retail performance indicator because they measure growth from existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Total sales for the period ended Feb. 27 increased 3 percent to $150.7 million.

Fred’s operates 669 discount general merchandise stores, including 24 franchised Fred’s stores in the southeastern U.S.