DALLAS, Aug 3, 2006/ --- As July financial statements roll in, comparable store sales published by department stores show that they are within range of each other with Kohl’s, Federated and JCPenney reporting healthy increases.

Dallas-based JCPenney posted sales of $1,239 million for July, a 4.6% increase from last year. Comparable store sales increase was pegged at 4.9%. While all merchandise divisions had sales gains, the company’s internet sales represented the fastest growing sales channel, increasing approximately 21% in July on top of a 30% increase last year.

Wisconsin-based Kohl’s posted double-digit growth of 15% with sales of $972.8 million, up from $846.2 million during the same period last year. Comparable store sales was reported at 5.9%.

Commenting on Kohl’s stellar performance, Larry Montgomery, Chairman and CEO, said, "We are extremely pleased with our sales performance in July and for the second quarter. Once again, we exceeded our comparable store sales guidance of 2% to 4% for the quarter as we continue to see consistency in sales performance across all lines of business and in all regions of the country."

Still, the biggest winner is Cincinnati-based Federated Stores with sales of $1, 608 million, an increase of 61.3% compared to last year’s $998 million. On a same-store basis, Federated's sales for July were up 3.3%. This is within the company's guidance for a same-store sales increase of 3 percent to 4 percent in July.