October Sales Roundup

Finally, some good news – sort of. October sales weren’t quite as bad as September’s for the companies tracked by Multichannel Merchant. But marketers are still posting monthly declines.

Total October sales for apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch dropped 5%, to $203.4 million, compared to $215.0 million in October 2008. On a much brighter side, direct-to-consumer sales jumped 24%, to $22.0 million. October same-store sales decreased 15%.

Neiman Marcus Direct’s sales for October slipped 4.8%. The division consists of the print catalog and online operations for Neiman Marcus and Horchow, as well as the Bergdorf Goodman Website. The top selling merchandise categories in the direct marketing segment included women’s contemporary apparel and dresses, beauty and shoes.

Meanwhile, October sales at women’s apparel marketer Victoria’s Secret Direct dropped 7%.

And total October company sales for J.C. Penney Co. fell 4.5%, to $1.31 billion.