Saks Comp-Stores Sales Up 20% in May

Upscale retailer Saks Inc. (NYSE:SKS) said Thursday that total sales hit $208.2 million for the four weeks ended May 28, 2011, an increase from the $177.5 million seen in the same period a year earlier.

Comparable-store sales increased 20.2% in May.

On a year-to-date basis, for the four months ended May 28, 2011, sales totaled $921.8 million, compared with $834.4 million for the prior year four months ended May 29, 2010, a 10.5% increase.

Comparable store sales increased 12.3% for the four months.

Saks calculates that comparable-store sales would have increased in the mid-teen range, if this years Family & Friends event had not taken place entirely in April as it did in 2010. For April and May 2011 combined, comparable-store sales increased 11.8%.

Looking ahead, management expects comparable-store sales for the second fiscal quarter to increase in the low-double digit range.