Fred's June Comparable Store Sales Down 0.6% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Fred's Inc. (FRED) reported that its comparable store sales for the month of June 2014 decreased 0.6% compared with a 4.5% increase in the same period last year. Total sales for the month increased 2% to $191.2 million from $187.3 million in June 2013.

Fred's total sales for the first five months of fiscal 2014 were $840.9 million, approximately flat compared with $841.1 million for the same period last year. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales decreased 1.3% versus flat sales for the year-earlier period.

Bruce Efird, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Comparable store sales declined slightly for June, with the fourth week of the month being unusually soft as we were unable to place our new ad program for that week. For the weeks that the new ad program were in effect, sales and customer traffic patterns improved noticeably."

"Looking forward, July will be the first month that all the elements of our new marketing plan come together, including in-store marketing initiatives that promote the diverse product mix offered by our stores, together with our new, fully implanted ad program. we also will begin an aggressive clearance program in July to clear unproductive SKUs and exit or reduce product categories that do not align with our convenience center model," Efird said.