Clothing and housewares company Kohl's (KSS) reported better than expected earnings for the second quarter, posting earnings of $229 million, or 75 cents a share.

Net sales for the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company increased by 2.2% to $3.81 billion, which was on par with Wall Street expectations.

Earnings per share for the year will be slightly higher than its previous projection, coming in at $2.59 to $2.70 per share, up from an earlier projection of $2.19 to $2.42 per share.

Same-store sales fell 2.3% in the second quarter, and are expected to fall 3% to 5% in the third quarter.

Even though the retail atmosphere is bleaker than it has been in previous years, Kohl's still has plans to open 20 to 25 stores within the next year. In January, the company purchased 37 Mervyn’s stores that had gone out of business in California, and plans to reopen them as Kohls in late September.