Gap Inc on Thursday reported its May sales were down 5 per cent and comparable stores sales down 6 per cent.
The company saw net sales of $1.03 billion for the four-week period ended May 30, 2009, which represents a 5 percent decrease compared with net sales of $1.09 billion for the four-week period ended May 31, 2008. The company’s comparable store sales for May 2009 were down 6 percent compared with a 14 percent decrease in May 2008.
Comparable store sales by division for May 2009 were Gap North America: down 11 percent versus negative 7 percent last year and international sales, including the UK were down 7 percent versus flat last year.
“While sales results were mixed across divisions, we’re pleased that merchandise margins were in-line with last year,” said Sabrina Simmons, chief financial officer of Gap Inc. “Moving forward, we continue to focus our efforts on improving product assortments and making targeted investments to drive traffic to our stores.”
Year-to-date net sales were $4.16 billion for the 17 weeks ended May 30, 2009, a decrease of 7 percent compared with net sales of $4.47 billion for the 17 weeks ended May 31, 2008. The company’s year-to-date comparable store sales decreased 7 percent compared with a 12 percent decrease last year.