On September 24, 2024, it was reported, consumer confidence tumbled in September, marking the sharpest drop in more than three years as Americans grow increasingly concerned about economic conditions particularly the labor market. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell this month to 98.7, down from an upwardly revised August reading of 105.6. "September's decline was the largest since August 2021 and all five components of the Index deteriorated," Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson said. "Consumers' assessments of current business conditions turned negative while views of the current labor market situation softened further." POWELL IS WORRIED ABOUT THE LABOR MARKET: NANCY LAZAR The Present Situation Index, which gauges consumers' current assessment of the business and labor market, plummeted more than 10 points to 124.3 this month, while the Expectations Index, based on respondents' short-term outlook, declined 4.6 points to 81.7. The Conference Board noted that when the Expectations Index falls below a reading of 80, it typically signals a recession is ahead. Despite inflation easing in August to the lowest level in three years, consumers' average 12-month inflation expectations climbed to 5.2% this month, and the Conference Board reported that respondents' write-in comments were dominated by mentions of inflation and prices. "The deterioration across the Index's main components likely reflected consumers concerns about the labor market and reactions to fewer hours, slower payroll increases, fewer job openingseven if the labor market remains quite healthy, with low unemployment, few layoffs and elevated wages," Peterson said.
On August 21, 2024, it was reported, La-Z-Boy reported $496 million in first quarter sales, a 3% increase over last year but a $58 million drop from last quarter. Net income was $26.2 million, compared with $27.5 million last year. The company was proud of its performance, particularly in wholesale. In wholesale, sales rose 5% to $351 million, which the company attributed primarily to growth with external customers, partially offset by lower intercompany sales to its own retail. In an earnings call, the company said growth from new customers, including Rooms To Go, helped strengthen the segment, despite losing some "mom and pop" stores. Retail sales fell 2.8% to $202.4 million. Written sales for the segment were up 4% from growth of new and acquired stores, while same-store sales fell 3%. Whittington said the company delivered a strong retail performance, despite "depressed traffic trends" across the industry. "Conversion rates and design average ticket sales both improved again year-over-year, and our in-store teams remain laser focused on providing the highest level of customer service and showcasing our industry leading product assortment," she said. "Trends were strongest around the Memorial Day holiday and softened towards the end of the quarter," the company said. "Across the industry, the consumer continues to be challenged and to pull back spending outside of key holidays." Bob Lucian, chief financial officer, gave some more insight. " As such, we expect fiscal second quarter sales to be in the range of $495 to $515 million."
On August 21, 2024, it was reported, TJX Cos. performed above plan in the second quarter, with comparable store sales, driven by customer transactions, up 4%, and pre-tax profit margin rising to 10.9%. Net sales for the quarter ended Aug. 3 were up 6% to $13.5 billion, while net income rose to $1.1 billion for Q2 in fiscal 2025. Diluted earnings per share were $0.96, an increase of 13% vs. the same quarter a year ago. TJX's HomeGoods division, which includes its HomeGoods and Homesense stores, saw comp store sales up 2% for the quarter, while its Marmaxx group, which encompasses TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Sierra, was up 5% in comp store sales in Q2. Net sales for the HomeGoods division were $2.101 billion and $8.445 billion for Marmaxx. The Q2 pre-tax profit margin at 10.9% was up 0.5 percentage points vs 10.4% in the same quarter a year ago. This was above the high-end of its plan by 0.4 percentage points, which the company attributed to lower freight rates and stronger sales. Gross profit margin was 30.4% for the quarter, up 0.2 percentage points over Q2 in fiscal 2024. For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, TJX estimates comp store sales will increase between 2% and 3%, while pre-tax profit margin will range between 11.8% and 11.9%. Diluted earnings per share are expected in the $1.06 to $1.08 range. For the full year, comp sales are expected to be up about 3% and pre-tax profit margin around 11.2%. The diluted earnings per share outlook for the full year is in the $4.09 to $4.13 range. The company ended the quarter with 5,001 stores across its U.S. and international businesses. In the U.S., the TJ Maxx brand added four stores; Marshalls, three; HomeGoods, eight; Homesense, three; and Sierra, four.
On August 20, 2024, it was reported, Lowe's Tuesday lowered its full-year guidance after Q2 was hit by unfavorable weather and consumer sentiment. The company expects total sales to land between $82.7 billion and $83.2 billion, down from its previous expectation for $84 billion to $85 billion; comps are expected to fall 3.5% to 4%, worse than the earlier 2% to 3% estimate. The home improvement retailer reported that Q2 net sales fell 5.5% year over year to $23.6 billion, with comps down 5.1%. Gross margin was about flat to last year at 33.5%, and net earnings fell 10.8% to $2.4 billion. The home improvement segment has had some recovery from its late-pandemic downturn. During the disease outbreak many consumers, stuck at home, fixed up their houses and living spaces, but home improvement and furniture sales have stagnated since then. That has eased somewhat, with Placer.ai finding that, so far this year, traffic to both Lowe's and rival Home Depot stores has outpaced 2023 somewhat. Higher interest rates have slowed the housing market, and that has also dampened sales. While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates in coming weeks, the timing of any impact is unclear, Lowe's executives told analysts Tuesday. For now, the housing marketing is expected to remain soft and consumers are likely to remain cautious, particularly when it comes to pricey items like appliances or expensive home improvement projects, according to a Tuesday note from Telsey Advisory Group analysts led by Joseph Feldman. S
