Beauty, seasonal merchandise drive March sales at Fred's
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Fred’s says beauty, personal care and Easter merchandise drove traffic in March, as the company reported an 11% increase in net sales to $214.4 million.
Fred's same store sales for the month rose 1.8% versus an increase of 1.9% for the year-earlier period. Fred's total sales for the first two months of fiscal 2016 increased 11% to $385.8 million compared with $346.8 million for the same period last year. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales increased 1.3% versus an increase of 0.9% for the year-earlier period.
"We are pleased to report that total March sales increased at the high end of our guidance, while comparable stores sales came in near the midrange," said Jerry A. Shore, CEO. "Much of the total increase can be attributed to the April 2015 acquisition of EntrustRx specialty pharmacy. Next month, we begin cycling the acquisition and in May, total sales comparisons will be normalized. Our traffic-driving initiatives for the pharmacy department continue to take hold, and for the second consecutive month, comparable scripts and sales were positive."
Fred's, Inc. and subsidiaries operate 660 discount general merchandise stores and three specialty pharmacy-only locations in 15 states in the southeastern United States.