Stage Stores key sales indicator falls in Sept.

Stage Stores sales at store open at least a year drop 5.6 percent in September

• On 6:47 am EDT, Thursday October 8, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) -- Department store operator Stage Stores Inc. said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year slipped 5.6 percent in September, missing Wall Street's expectations.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a smaller decline of 4.3 percent.

While the performance was below what analysts predicted, it was a smaller dropoff than a year earlier, when sales at stores open at least a year fell 13.6 percent.

These sales figures are a key indicator of retailer performance since they measure growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Stage Stores said its softest sales were in the Southeast, while its strongest were in the Midwest. Categories reporting improved results included intimates and juniors.

CEO Andy Hall said in a statement that sales at stores open at least a year were helped by a shift in the Labor Day holiday. Last year's sales were also hurt by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, he said. This year sales were hurt by lower levels of clearance items.

The company said total sales for the period ended Oct. 3 dipped 2.4 percent to $113 million from $115 million.

Stage Stores has 757 stores located in 39 states.