Counter Culture

When retailers around the country today report their same-stores sales results for February, don’t expect Macy’s Inc. to join them. A Wall Street Journal article reports that the department-store giant will join the Dollar General, Home Depot and Sears Holdings, in not revealing the monthly figures.

The article’s author asserts that “monthly reports have actually lost significance as an economic indicator over time. For one thing, they don’t reflect two big shifts in the way consumers shop.” Online sales, calendar shifts that skew the timing of holidays and gift cards have lessened the relevance of the monthly reports, the article says.

But one person quoted David Dreman, chairman and chief investment manager of Dreman Value Management, says: “Giving less information at a time of high investor concern heightens the perception that there might be bad results.”

So what do you think? Are retailers’ monthly sales important to your business and is it the duty of these companies to provide this transparency. Or have these sales figures lost their relevance?