Richard Hastings Comparable Quotations

Sears did a superb job on seasonal holiday promotions in circulars and TV ads and enjoyed a strong November. Sears comparable sales gains compares favorably to last year when November 2003 same-store sales were down 3.6 percent,

If Wal-Mart's December comparable sales do go up 3 percent, that means they did much better in the last two weeks of the month,

But higher costs were enough to hit operating income in the quarter, which grew only 7 percent, compared to a 7.4 growth rate for the comparable nine months. Despite these issues, the quarter held up very well and the holiday quarter should hold up nicely,