Almost two-thirds of the 52 retailers reported lower-than-expected sales. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: chart) said Thursday its February same-store sales rose 0.9%, missing estimates of an increase by 1.5%. Total company sales for the four weeks ended March 2 rose 8.1% to $26.79 billion. The retailer projected March same-store sales are to rise between 1% and 2%. Among other discounters, warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale (COST: chart) reported 4% in its February same-store sales, missing the average analyst estimate of 5.1% growth. In contrast, Target Corp. (TGT: chart) posted healthy sales growth of 5.7%.

Limited Brands Inc. (LTD: chart) said Thursday its February same-store sales rose 3%, coming shy of analyst estimates of same-store sales increase by 4%. Net sales for the four weeks ended March 3 rose to $730.5 million from $635.8 million. Federated Department Stores (FD: chart) said same-store sales for February rose 1.2%, below its previous forecast of a 2% to 3% rise.

Bebe Stores (BEBE: chart) posted a 2.2% decline in same-store sales, its first monthly decline in 46 months, down from expectations of a 2.2% gain. Pacific Sunwear of California (PSUN: chart) announced a 5.7% decline in its February sales at stores open at least one year, missing the average analyst expectations of same-store sales drop of 3.7%.Total sales for the four weeks ended March 3 rose 1.2% to $88.7 million. Pier 1 Imports (PIR: chart) said its February same-store sales slipped 8.4%. Analysts had expected comparable-store sales to drop 4.4%. Total sales reached $120.5 million, an increase of 14.3%.

Sharper Image Corp. (SHRP: chart) said Thursday its February same-store sales plunged 24%, coming in below forecast of a 16.7% decline. Total sales for the month ended Feb. 28 fell 29% to $22.1 million. The Gap (GPS: chart) said same-store sales fell 4% in February, beating estimates of a drop of 4.8% for the month. Total sales for the four weeks ended March 3 slumped 5% to $910 million from $865 million in the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, high-end stores continued to shine. Luxury retailer Nordstrom (JWN: chart) reported a 9.1% jump in same-store sales in February, beating the 5.7% estimate. Saks (SKS: chart) posted remarkably higher increase- 24.7% increase compared with estimates of 6.4% gain. Kohl’s Corp. (KSS: chart) handily beat the 2.9% gain estimate with an increase of 4.4%. McDonald’s (MCD: chart) posted February same-store sales increase of 5.7%.

2007 SAME-STORE SALES
Company	Ticker	January	February	March	April	May	June	July
Apparel Retailers
Abercrombie & Fitch	ANF	-6.00%	-6.00%
Aeropostale	ARO	5.40%	2.30%
AmericanEagle	AEOS	17.00%	NA
AnnTaylor	ANN	-10.20%	-2.90%
Bebe	BEBE	0.80%	-2.20%
Buckle	BKE	7.80%	4.50%
Cato	CTR	-7.00%	0.00%
CharmingShoppes	CHRS	NA	NA
Chico's	CHS	-3.50%	-4.30 %
Children'sPlace, The	PLCE	3.00%	5.00%
Christopher & Banks	CBK	-4.00%	-13.00%
CitiTrends	CTRN	3.20%	NA
Claires	CLE	3.00%	1.00%
DebShops	DEBS	-3.80%	-2.00%
Dillards	DDS	-3.00%	-9.00%
DressBarn	DBRN	8.00%	0.00%
Federated Dept.	FD	8.60%	1.20%
Gap	GPS	0.00%	-4.00%
Gottschalks	GOT	-1.00%	-3.60%
Guess	GES	NA	NA
Gymboree	GYMB	0.00%	1.00%
Hot Topic	HOTT	-6.60%	-2.70%
J.C.Penney	JCP	3.60%	-0.20%
Jo-AnnStores	JAS	-6.30%	NA
Jos.A.Bank	JOSB	-4.70%	2.80%
Kohl's	KSS	8.70%	4.40%
LimitedBrands	LTD	11.00%	3.00%
Men'sWearhouse	MW	NA	NA
MotherWorks	MWRK	-6.00%	-4.70%
Nordstrom	JWN	11.00%	9.10%
Pacific Sunwear	PSUN	-7.70%	-5.70%
Ross Stores	ROST	2.00%	1.00%
Saks	SKS	11.40%	25.00%
SteinMart	SMRT	-1.90%	-1.90%
Talbots	TLB	NA	NA
TJX	TJX	4.00%	2.00%
Drug Stores
CVS	CVS	8.60%	7.00%
Walgreen	WAG	10.80%	8.60%
Wholesale Stores
BJ's Wholesale Club	BJ	3.50%	3.00%
Costco	COST	2.00%	4.00%
Family Dollar	FDO	0.10%	-0.50%
Shoe Stores
DSW	DSW	NA	NA
Payless Shoesource	PSS	NA	NA
FinishLine	FINL	NA	NA
Discount Retailers
Target	TGT	5.10%	5.70%
Wal-Mart Stores	WMT	2.20%	0.90%
Pier1 Imports	PIR	-13.20%	-8.40%
Sharper Image	SHRP	-25.00%	-24.00%
Miscellaneous
BigLots	BIG	NA	NA