Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 6, 1992 TAG: 9203060105
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Retailers in all segments of the industry reported gains, and even expensive merchandise such as furniture and major appliances sold well. Some merchants said sales were better than expected, but many cautioned that their recession-battered businesses weren't home free yet.
"It might be the beginning of a recovery," said Jean O'Neil, a retail industry analyst with the investment firm Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Karen Sack, a retail industry analyst with Standard & Poor's Corp., said: "There were some nice surprises. . . . People seem to be coming back, a little nibbling here and there."
Discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, continued to lead the pack, reporting a 20 percent gain in same-store sales, the industry's measure of revenue at outlets that were open at least a year.
Same-store sales are considered a more accurate assessment of a retailer's performance than overall sales. New stores tend to have extraordinarily strong sales that can skew a retailer's results.
Merchants were pleased but wary. While business began to improve in January and continued to pick up in February, those are the least-significant months of the retail year.
"We believe it's too early to predict any trends," said Stephen E. Watson, president of Dayton Hudson Corp., a Minneapolis-based retailer operating B. Dalton Bookseller stores in Roanoke.
Allen Questrom, chairman of Federated Department Stores Inc., which re-emerged from bankruptcy last month, said his company's sales were stronger than expected.
Nonetheless, he said, "we think it will be into the fall season before we see any significant or sustained improvement in levels of consumer activity across all areas of the business."
The first big test of consumers' willingness to spend is expected this month and in April, when shoppers begin buying spring clothes. The bulk of spring purchases are expected to take place in April, because Easter arrives later this year than in 1991.
Some of the February sales appear stronger because they are compared to the very weak results of a year ago, when consumers were preoccupied with the Gulf War and spent little time shopping.
But there were some undisputable signs of strength last month. Retailers reported that store traffic was up, meaning more people were shopping.
O'Neil said the pickup in sales of so-called big-ticket items - the merchandise category hit hardest by the recession - was another positive sign.
Reports released Thursday by other retailers show:
The May Department Stores Co., parent of the Hecht's and Payless ShoeSource chains, reported preliminary sales were $629.3 million for the four weeks ended Feb. 29, an increase of 8.4 percent from sales of $580.3 million during the similar fiscal period last year. Same-store sales rose 4 percent.
Circuit City Stores Inc. reported February sales of $205.2 million, a 35 percent increase from $152.1 million a year earlier and a 20 percent increase in comparable-store sales.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. reported February sales of $87.9 million, 37 percent above sales of $64.1 million for February 1991. Same-store sales rose 30 percent.
Woolworth Corp. reported total sales in February of $593 million, up 0.1 percent from $592 million in the year-earlier period. Domestic sales fell 0.7 percent to $349 million from $352 million. Same-store domestic sales were up 3.1 percent.
Apparel retailer Gap Inc., which turned in a strong performance throughout the recession, said same-store sales were up 7 percent as overall sales rose 23 percent.
Limited Inc., the nation's largest specialty apparel retailer, said same-store sales rose 5 percent, while overall business was up 14 percent.
by CNB