Gas prices, housing market hurt retail sales

However, the company said it remains on track to meet its earnings goals for the year.

Costco Wholesale Corp. had a 7 percent same-store sales gain, better than the 6.3 percent estimate.

Federated, which operates Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, posted a 2.2 percent decline in same-store sales, while analysts forecast a 1.7 percent gain.

Penney said its same-store sales fell 2.7 percent, more than the 0.8 percent analysts expected.

Among upscale retailers, Nordstrom Inc. recorded a 3.3 percent gain in same-store sales, which was below the 4.2 percent estimate. Saks Inc. had a robust 11.7 percent gain in same-store sales, above the 6.7 percent estimate.

Gap Inc., whose problems led to the departure of its CEO in January, suffered a 16 percent drop in same-store sales, much worse than the 7.1 percent decline that analysts had expected.

Limited Brands Inc. had a 1 percent decline in same-store sales, worse than the 1 percent gain that analysts had expected.

Abercrombie & Fitch posted a 15 percent drop in same-store sales, much worse than the 4.7 percent decline Wall Street projected.

Apparel retailer Bebe Stores Inc. had a 9 percent drop, worse than the 6.6 percent analysts forecast. Wet Seal had a 9.6 percent decline, more than the 8.3 percent estimate.

Gadget retailer Sharper Image Inc., which has been languishing for months, suffered an 11 percent drop in same-store sales. Still, the results were better than the 25 percent decrease analysts expected.

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