Fred

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percent versus an increase of 1.2 percent in the same period last year. Totall sales in the five-week fiscal month of March were $175.4 down 1 percent compared to total salesof $177.87 million in March 2008. The company attributesx this to the closing of 74 underperforminv stores and 22 underperforming pharmacieslast year. Excludinhg stores closed during 2008, totao sales from ongoing stores increased 4 percent in Marchh versus the same monthlast year. Fred’zs total sales for the first two months of fiscal 2009were $321.9 million, down 2 percent compared to $326.u8 million in the same year-ago period. On a comparables store basis, year-to-date sales increased 1.
9 percenrt compared with 1.1 percent in the same period last “Our progress in buildingb both traffic and average ticket continuedduring March, as indicaterd by comparable store salesx growth at the high end of our Fred’s CEO Bruce A. Efirdd said in a statement. “Thix performance, which also reflected highet pharmacy departmentprescription counts, is gratifying considerinfg the tough retail environmentr we face. Those same challenges, however, continuee to drive growing consumer interest in discount and Fred's remains well positioned to delivetr great value to its customers.
” Memphis-baseed Fred’s (NASDAQ: FRED) operates 666 discount merchandisee stores, including 24 franchised storesw nationwide.