Gap today reported that December 2009 net sales were up five per cent from last year. Net sales for the five-week period ended January 2, 2010 were $2.02 billion compared with net sales of $1.93 billion for the five-week period ended January 3, 2009. The company’s comparable store sales for December 2009 increased 2 per cent compared with a 14 per cent decrease in December 2008.

Comparable store sales for December 2009 were as follows: Gap North America saw growth of 1 per cent versus negative 12 per cent last year, whereas international sales were down 1 per cent in comparison to 5 per cent the previous year.

“We’re pleased that our planned promotions and holiday assortments allowed us to compete effectively while delivering merchandise margins significantly above last year,” said Sabrina Simmons, chief financial officer of Gap Inc.

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Year-to-date net sales were $13.40 billion for the 48 weeks ended January 2, 2010, a decrease of 3 per cent compared with net sales of $13.77 billion for the 48 weeks ended January 3, 2009. The company’s year-to-date comparable store sales decreased 4 per cent compared with an 11 per cent decrease last year.

The company will report January sales on February 4, 2010.