Moderate apparel selling well at Macy's

Here are a few interesting items from Macy's second quarter earnings conference call yesterday:

- Both men's and women's moderate apparel were the strongest categories. Housewares, cosmetics and kids also performed well.

- Macy's exclusive Tommy Hilfiger and Martha Stewart lines had a good quarter. Shoppers responded positively to a new exclusive line for the young contemporary customer called Rachel by Rachel Roy.

- Weak categories included furniture, mattresses and handbags.

- The My Macy's pilot stores continue to outperform regular stores. My Macy's is a localization effort to tailor merchandise to local needs that is being rolled out to all stores.

- Bloomingdale's sales improved vs. the first quarter but were weaker than Macy's sales.

- Inventories were down 7.5 percent at the end of the quarter.

- Gross margins were flat vs. the same period last year at 41.5 percent

- The Midwest and Texas were the best-performing regions, while California and the Southeast were weak.