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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995                   TAG: 9504080032
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                 LENGTH: Short

RETAIL SAG TIED TO LATE EASTER

Weakness in March U.S. chain store sales was mostly a result of a later Easter this year, but other special factors, including consumer burnout, also weighed on results, analysts said.

``It was a pretty miserable set of numbers, but that was expected,'' said David Kelly, a senior economist at Lehman Bros. Global Economics in Boston.

Kelly noted March 1994 was a ``gang-buster month,'' with sales of nine major stores jumping an aggregate 11.9 percent.

By the same index, he estimated sales for the latest month rose 0.4 percent, compared with a 3.9 percent rise in February.

Most of the latest weakness came from the timing of Easter, ``but beyond that, the story is not exciting,'' with the numbers still a bit weak even adjusting for seasonals, he said. Easter occurred April 3 last year; it takes place April 16 this year.

``Our belief was that the consumer sector would hit a wall in 1995,'' said Diane Swonk, an economist at First Chicago Corp.

But she added that the March results overstated weakness in the current quarter.

Swonk noted that with deferred billing plans offered by many retailers, Christmas bills were due in March.

In addition, tax return payouts by the government are lagging about 20 percent behind last year's, she said, adding that many consumers use those returns to pay off bills or to buy big-ticket items.

by CNB