Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020065
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bigger stores were the main recipients of an expected boost from back-to-school sales, analysts said, but that surge of purchases failed to occur until the end of the month, with many retailers reporting strong buying in the final weekend of August.
Reports on most August sales results ended Saturday.
``Several of the major department stores had good results but some of the smaller specialty sales continue to struggle,'' said William Mel Hughes, analyst at Stein, Roe & Farnham of Chicago.
``Overall it's still difficult to interpret sales,'' he said. ``August is a schizophrenic month overall. In the first part of the month there are still some summer clearances, with back-to-school compressed in the final two weeks of the month. So we probably won't get a clear picture until the month of September.''
Sears Merchandise's 5.2 percent rise was ``very impressive in view of the fact they had strong sales this month last year,'' Hughes said.
``Wal-Mart also was strong, especially in the discount store division where they continue to outpace their competitors,'' he said, adding that Sam's Club division sales continued weak and a drag on overall Wal-Mart sales growth.
``It was a mixed bag,'' said Karen Sack, a retail analyst at Standard and Poor's in New York. ``Things were a little slower than companies would have liked.''
However, ``apparel did pick up a little bit, with stores such as Ann Taylor and Talbot's doing well,'' Sack noted.
Here are results of chains operating in Western Virginia. Same-store or comparable store sales refer to results of stores open at least a year, considered the best measure of a retailer's performance.
Best Products Co. Inc. had August sales of $95.3 million, down 1.4 percent for all stores compared to August 1993 and down 2.2 percent at comparable stores.
Bombay Co. had sales of $22.1 million, up 27 percent for all stores and up 9 percent at comparable stores.
Charming Shoppes Inc., owner of Fashion Bug stores, $95 million, saw an increase of 4 percent overall but a same-store sales decrease of 4 percent.
Dress Barn Inc., $35.2 million in sales, reported an increase of 8 percent overall. Same-store sales were unchanged.
Family Dollar stores had sales of $116.7 million, an increase of 14.1 percent overall and up 5.8 percent at comparable stores.
Hechinger Stores Inc. said sales were $81.5 million, up 7 percent overall and up 6 percent at comparable stores.
Kmart Corp. sales were $2.76 billion, up 8.6 percent overall. Comparable sales in U.S. stores increased 3.1 percent.
The Limited Ltd. had sales of $543.9 million, up 7 percent. Same-store sales were flat.
Lowe's Cos. sales totaled $476 million, up 37 percent. Same-stores sales increased 16 percent.
Lechters Inc. had sales of $30.1 million, up 13 percent. Same-store sales increased 2.6 percent.
May Department Stores Co., owner of Hecht's and Payless ShoeSource stores, had sales of $880.5 million, up 7.6 percent. Same-store sales were up 4.2 percent.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. reported store sales of $1.2 billion, an increase of 11 percent overall and 10.9 percent in comparable stores.
Sears Merchandise Group had domestic store sales of $2.02 billion, an increase of 6.1 percent for all stores and 5.2 percent at comparable stores.
Wal-Mart had August sales of $6.84 billion, up 22 percent for all stores and 6.6 percent for stores open at least a year.
Woolworth Corp. reported sales of $734 million, an increase of 7.1 percent overall and 1 percent in comparable stores.
by CNB