Fred's September Total Sales, Comps Decline - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Fred's Inc. (FRED ), an operator of discount general merchandise stores and specialty pharmacy-only locations, reported Thursday that total sales for the month of September decreased 5.5% to $199.9 million from $211.4 million last year. Comparable store sales for the month decreased 4.9%, compared to an increase of 4.2% a year ago.

Fred's total sales for the year-to-date period increased 0.5% to $1.439 billion, while comparable store sales decreased 1.5%.

Michael Bloom, Chief Executive Officer, said, "September sales faced a tough year-over-year comparison. The front store also experienced calendar shifts for federal assistance payments, continued substantial reductions in SNAP payments, and an increased impact related to competitive pricing strategies, particularly in consumables categories."

The company noted that retail pharmacy performed consistent with recent trends and continued to be pressured by the shift to 90-day prescriptions. On the other hand, specialty pharmacy, while experiencing low-single-digit negative comparable sales due to an industry wide slowdown in Hepatitis C drugs, is continuing its steady consecutive month-over-month growth.

Bloom noted that the Company's fiscal month of October will end on October 29 this year versus October 31 last year. As a result, last-minute Halloween sales will fall into the November reporting period this year.

Additionally, the Company announced that it will host an investor day in New York City on December 2.