Buckle April same-store sales rise 18.2 percent

AP ONLINE

Posted: 2009-05-07 07:28:00

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Teen apparel retailer The Buckle Inc. said Thursday its same-store sales rose 18.2 percent in April, beating analyst expectations.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected same-store sales to rise 10.6 percent.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key measure of retailer performance because they measure growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

Total sales for the four-week period ended May 2 rose 26 percent to $59.1 million.

For the fiscal year through May 2, same-store sales rose 17.7 percent while total sales rose 25 percent to $199.7 million.

The Buckle operates 393 retail stores in 40 states.