
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 7, 1993                   TAG: 9305070143
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

RETAILERS POST SALES INCREASES

U.S. chain stores posted modest but expected sales increases in April as consumers unbundled from the late winter.

One of the encouraging signs was a rise in sales of big-ticket items, such as furniture and electronics, said Michael Niemira, economist with Mitsubishi Bank in New York.

Niemira's index showed April sales up 2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared with a 5 percent slump in March.

"There's a ray of hope in these figures . . . and I expect to see continued modest growth in May of 4 to 5 percent," he said.

Comparable-store sales - considered a truer measure of retail activity - rose 5 percent at Sears, Roebuck and Co., compared with a 1.4 percent drop in March. Sears is heavily dependent on gardening and outdoor furniture sales, and the late arrival of spring hit hard last month, said David Kelly, senior economist with Boston Co. Economic Advisers.

Thursday's sales figures suggest that "retail spending didn't die in March, it just took a breather because of heavy holiday spending and harsh weather," Kelly said.

Chains with operations in Western Virginia reported:

\ Charming Shoppes Inc., a retail women's apparel chain: April sales rose 5 percent to $97.1 million from the 1992 period. Same-store sales fell 1 percent.

\ Circuit City Stores Inc.: sales were $246.5 million, up 23 percent from April 1992; up 9 percent in comparable stores.

\ Dayton-Hudson Corp., parent of B. Dalton Booksellers: sales were $1.23 billion, up 4.6 percent; comparable-store sales were down 2.1 percent.

\ Family Dollar Stores Inc.: $106.4 million in sales, up 9.5 percent; same stores gained 2 percent.

\ Hechinger Co.: sales of $195 million, up 14 percent; comparable-store sales rose 3 percent.

\ J.C. Penney Co.: sales of $1.03 billion, up 4.8 percent; comparable-store sales rose 4 percent.

\ Kmart Corp.: sales up 10.5 percent to $3.096 billion; comparable-store sales up 1 percent.

\ May Department Stores Co., parent of Hecht's and Payless ShoeSource stores: sales of $811.4 million, up 3.6 percent; comparable-store sales up 1 percent.

\ Sears Merchandise Group: total store sales were $1.65 billion, up 6 percent. Comparable-store sales were 5 percent higher.

\ Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: $5.03 billion in sales, up 22 percent; comparable-store sales up 6 percent.

\ Woolworth Corp., operator of F.W. Woolworth, Champs Sports, Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker stores: sales were $740 million, up 0.8 percent; comparable-store sales fell 2.3 percent.

by CNB