REVCO CHRISTMAS SALES INCREASED 23% ON LIKE-STORE BASIS

Executive Summary

REVCO CHRISTMAS SALES INCREASED 23% ON LIKE-STORE BASIS, putting the chain "in the high end of the range of Christmas gains reported by the nation's largest retailers and well above results for the chain drugstore industry as a whole," Revco Chairman Sidney Dworkin reported. The strong five-week period at the end of the year was a shot in the arm for Revco; for the 36-week period ended Feb. 4, like-store sales are up at the slower 13.5% rate (including the Christmas boost). Total sales for the first three quarters of the fiscal year reached $1.4 bil. compared to $1.2 bil. in 1983. "Pharmacy sales, which account for approximately 30% of Revco's store sales, rose 11.3% on a like-store basis for the (third) quarter," the company reported. For the nine months, they were up 12.8%. The company maintained that the pharmacy gains were "achieved without a high incidence of influenza, a factor which contributed significantly to sales gains a year ago." The chain says it is on-target to reach 120 net openings in 1984: the firm had added 87 stores through the first nine months. Chart omitted.