Cold weather hurts Target's spring sales
Cold weather has been hampering sales of spring merchandise for Target.
The retailer said Tuesday its first-quarter profit will likely be slightly below its previous forecast of $1.10 to $1.20 per share.
Target also expects revenue at stores open at least a year, a key retail metric, will be roughly flat for February, March and April compare to the same period last year.
Retailers are struggling with weaker consumer spending and economic uncertainty. But Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, said the delay of spring has been the real headache.
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"We would expect there's some pent-up demand here in April, as the weather improves for spring and seasonally-related merchandise, home and garden merchandise," Perkins said.
Perkins said temperatures around much of the country this year have been colder than usual, following an abnormally warm spring last year.
"It's just got the spring selling season off to a terribly slow start," Perkins said.
Target did not lower its total earnings forecast for its current fiscal year.