Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9412020004
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Medium
Sluggish apparel sales were cited by almost every retailer that reported results at levels below plan.
Warm weather weakened demand for apparel in what is usually a big back-to-school month, said Karen Sack, a retail analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York.
``As soon as it got cold, which was generally last weekend, retailers said they could see sales pick up,'' Sack said. ``I suspect sales are being deferred until October, and we'll see a pickup then.''
Lagging apparel demand also hurt results for specialty clothing stores, such as The Gap Inc., which reported same-store sales fell 2 percent, and The Limited Inc., whose sales sagged 6 percent.
In addition, ``department stores are picking up market share, while specialty stores are weakening,'' Sack said. She attributed part of that shift to consumers' rediscovery of the convenience of making a number of purchases at one stop.
However, averaging sales data from just five large retailers, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, J.C. Penney and May Department Stores, sales rose 4.9 percent in the period.
``There has been a shift to the middle market stores, like Sears and J.C. Penney's, and consumer electronics continue to boom,'' said Michael Niemira of Mitsubishi Bank in New York. ``But that's not a new story, but a continuation of a recent trend.''
Sears reported its comparable-store sales were up 4.8 percent, while Penney's sales gained 9.3 percent. Circuit City's same-store sales jumped 22 percent.
Looking ahead, David Kelly at Lehman Bros. Global Economics in Boston said he expected holiday season sales to be strong, ``although not as healthy as last year.''
Income and employment gains should allow consumers to spend in the fourth quarter, Kelly said. But in the meantime, ``there is no harm in having a bit of a pause,'' he said.
Here are September results of chains operating in Western Virginia. Same-store or comparable stores sales refer to results of stores open at least a year. This is considered the best measure of a retailer's performance.
Bombay Co. sales were up 22 percent overall, to $29.1 million, and 5 percent at comparable stores.
Charming Shoppes Inc., owner of Fashion Bug stores, reported sales of $124.8 million, down 3 percent for all stores and 10 percent at comparable stores.
Heilig-Meyers sales increased 45.8 percent overall, to $79.4 million, and 15.2 percent at comparable stores.
Hills Stores Co. sales were up 0.8 percent to $157.9 million; comparable store sales were unchanged.
Kmart Corp. sales were $3.32 billion, up 7.9 percent at all stores and 2.8 percent in comparable stores.
Lechters Inc. had sales of $34.4 million, up 13 percent overall and 3 percent at comparable stores.
Lowe's Cos. had sales of $608.2 million, up 38 percent at all stores and 17 percent at comparable stores.
Sears Merchandise Group's sales of $3.06 billion represented an increase of 5.4 percent at all stores and 4.8 percent for same-stores.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported net sales for September of $6.4 billion, an increase of 22 percent overall and 8.2 percent at comparable stores. Sam's Clubs had net sales of $1.5 billion, up 32 percent for all stores, but only 0.5 percent at comparable stores.
Woolworth Corp. reported sales of $780 million, up 5.9 percent at all stores, and down 0.1 percent at comparable stores.
by CNB