Target May same-store sales slip 6.1 percent

MINNEAPOLIS -- Target Corp. said Thursday its same-store sales declined worse than analysts expected in May.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said its same-store sales -- a key measure of a retailer's health -- fell 6.1 percent last month.

Analysts had expected a smaller 4.3 percent decline in same-store sales, according to Thomson Reuters. Same-store sales are considered a key measure of a retailer's health because they measure sales at stores open at least one year, rather than including new ones.

Target says total sales for the four weeks ended May 30 fell 2.3 percent to $4.46 billion.

The company said so far this year, same-store sales have fallen 4.2 percent while total sales have declined 0.2 percent.

Target Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel says the results were "somewhat below" Target's expectations.

The cheap-chic retailer has struggled to maintain sales as consumers cut costs and focus on basics. The company come under criticism from shareholders as its stock price and sales have fallen.

This criticism -- especially that Target needs to offer more food to better compete with Wal-Mart -- helped launch the company's largest proxy fight ever, which ended last week.

Activist shareholder William Ackman, head of Pershing Square Capital Management, had sought to make changes to the company, including putting new people on the board who could bring in more experience in real estate and retail. But last week at the company's annual meeting in Waukesha, Wis., shareholders rejected his bid to elect a new slate.

Steinhafel has said he was glad to put the fight behind him so he can refocus on the business, especially adding more food and remaking and increasing Target's private-label brand offerings.