Federated Dept. Stores Lowers Same-Store Sales Forecast for 2001

Federated Department Stores (FD Quote) reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales for March, forcing the company to lower its comparable sales guidance for the rest of the fiscal year.

The department store owner said same-store sales fell 3.2% for the month. According to Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts were expecting a decrease of 1.4%. Total sales for the five weeks ended April 7 fell 5.9% to $1.43 billion from $1.52 billion in the same period last year. ...