New York –
National discount chains saw sales of consumer electronics lag most categories
in June.
As the economy and
unseasonably warm weather took their toll, room air, along with staples like
food, apparel and health care, displaced TVs and PCs at checkout counters.
Among those
reporting monthly results,
Target
said net sales rose 4 percent to $5.9 billion
and comp-store sales increased 1.7 percent. But chairman/CEO Gregg Steinhafel
cited CE, video games, music and movies as “particularly soft” last month, and
said Target will continue to plan its business “cautiously.”
Within the
warehouse club channel,
Costco
reported a 7 percent increase in June sales, to
$7.3 billion, and a 1 percent gain in U.S. comp-store sales, excluding the
positive impact of higher gasoline prices.
Costco said its CE
and majap business suffered comp-sale declines due to softness in the TV and
computer categories, although the downturn was partially offset by strong room
air volume. TV was down equally in dollars and units, attributable to reduced
couponing activity, in a scenario Costco has seen for the past several months.
At
BJ’s Wholesale
Club
, net revenue rose 7.9 percent to $1.1 billion and comps increased 3.2
percent excluding gasoline. Like Costco, BJ’s reported strength in room air,
but slackened demand for TVs and computers, as well as pre-recorded video.
