Wal-Mart's holiday opening disappoints

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had a disappointing start to the holiday shopping season, despite an aggressive discount campaign. It now expects to report November same-store sales below its already lackluster forecast.

The world's largest retailer said Saturday that it expects to report a 0.1 percent decline in November sales in stores opened at least a year, slightly below its projections for flat sales for the month, compared to the year-ago period. The results cover the four-week period through Friday, the first day of the holiday shopping season.

Wal-Mart and other major retailers are expected to report final same-store results for November on Thursday.

Wal-Mart's disappointing performance in November is the latest in a string of anemic sales gains for the discount store, which is struggling to expand its appeal to higher-income shoppers. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Wal-Mart has averaged a meager 2.4 percent gain in same-store sales for the February-October period. That compares with a same-store sales 4.8 percent gain for discount rival Target Corp.

Wal-Mart, which had downplayed its emphasis on discounting, or what it calls rollbacks, stepped up its campaign in mid-October, with price reductions on over 100 toys. The move was followed by price cuts on consumer electronics and small appliances earlier this month. The bargains like Panasonic 42-inch HD plasma TVs, slashed to $1,294 from $1,794, were usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving.