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To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (1642)	1/8/2004 4:04:58 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 3079

NEWS: 2-Kohl's December same-store sales fall, cuts outlook Thu January 8, 2004 10:30 AM ET reuters.com CHICAGO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Kohl's Corp. (KSS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) which runs a chain of mid-priced department stores, on Thursday said fourth-quarter profits may fall 23 percent below Wall Street forecasts because of disappointing December sales. The profit warning, which sent Kohl's shares down by more than 7 percent in early trading, was the latest in a string of disappointments for the one-time Wall Street star. The retailer has now warned of weaker-than-expected profits for each quarter of the current fiscal year, which ends in about three weeks. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's said sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.2 percent, while total sales increased 12.8 percent, to $1.84 billion, in the five-week period ended Jan. 3. The company said it was "very disappointed" with its December sales performance, and it was forced to take deeper than planned discounts on merchandise. It cut its fourth-quarter forecast range to 68 cents per share to 70 cents per share, from its previous outlook of 89 cents to 95 cents per share. Analysts, on average, had been expecting it to earn 88 cents per share, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Plc. The Northeastern United States was Kohl's best-performing region, despite the snowstorms early in the month, and the Midwest was the most difficult. The strongest merchandise areas were children's items and shoes. Analysts had widely expected Kohl's to cut its earnings forecast, but the warning was much worse than most had feared. Once a Wall Street favorite, Kohl's has been losing its luster as competition heats up. Kohl's pioneered a mid-tier department store format that combines the convenience of discount shopping with the selection and service of a department store. But other chains have copied the model, adding shopping carts and central check-out aisles that have proved popular with shoppers. "Many retailers simply got tired of losing (market) share to Kohl's in the past few years, and have taken some very aggressive pricing and promotional action against Kohl's," said Martin Bukoll, retail analyst with Northern Trust, which holds Kohl's shares. The stock lost $3.40 to trade at $42.10 in early New York Stock Exchange trading, down some 36 percent from a 52-week high set in September. (Additional reporting by Angela Moore in New York)