Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Jeffrey P. Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray.
Jeffrey P. Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray
My question is really focused on guidance for the year and what you are incorporating into that outlook for the second half, appreciating that visibility is pretty low that far out, but given your performance in Q1 and even your guidance in Q2, it seems that on a year-over-year basis you would actually be looking at comp deterioration in the fourth quarter versus the relatively negative comps the last two years.
Can you give us a sense, are you basing that on anything that you are seeing in the current sales trends or is simply just a conservative outlook?
Kevin Mansell
No, there's nothing about the current sales trends that impacts our view of the year. I think we started with a generally conservative view, which is specifically based on the economic conditions our customer is facing and the research we've done around her having to really stretch dollars further, and we just kind of feel that one quarter of our-performance to that expectation doesn't make for a good reason to change the view.
So there is nothing particularly unique about how we're coming to that conclusion, we just think we would need a longer time of out-performance in a clear direction that is different than we one we set at the beginning of the year.
Jeffrey P. Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray
In terms of your first quarter and the gains you made in the Southwest and then the comment I think Larry made about California comping positive, all very encouraging and points to share gains from urbans and probably others. Do you feel confident that those were consistent gains throughout the quarter? Any changes on your gains throughout those three months of the first quarter?
And then in Q2, any anticipated shifts in promotions that you had last year that moved around your comps between the months?
Kevin Mansell
From a Southwest and California perspective, we had consistent positive performance. I would say if anything there was increasing momentum during the course of the quarter. You know, April was probably the biggest month of out-performance so I think that felt pretty good.
Wesley S. McDonald
There is not real calendar—there's calendar shifts within the month but as we report the month there won't be anything that really crosses months so it should be relatively straight forward.
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