Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 5, 1995 TAG: 9509070018
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For kids, those big, yellow buses that appeared on the roads this morning meant an end to a summer's freedom. For retailers, they meant the end of one of their most important sales periods, the back-to-school shopping season.
The month before school starts traditionally ranks with the Christmas and Easter seasons as among the largest sales periods for apparel retailers. At some stores, like the Tanglewood Mall J.C. Penney store, more kids' clothes are sold during August than during the entire season leading up to Christmas.
"We call this Christmas for our children's department," said Thurman Johnson, assistant manager of the department store.
But this year's back-to-school sales have been weaker than expected across the nation, a result many analysts and retailers blamed on hot weather that made late August feel more like mid-July and wilted sales of fall school togs.
Based on sales figures for August through the 26th, few retailers failed to feel the heat. Department stores, among the industry's strongest performers, turned in their slimmest increases in same-store sales in six months. Same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least a year, are considered the best measure of a retailer's sales strength, because they exclude the impact of store openings and closings.
"We've been on a little bit of a roller coaster," Johnson said. "It's been very hot, and a lot of our mix is fall goods - sweaters, long-sleeved shirts. It's hard to sell that kind of merchandise when it's 95 degrees outside."
August sales at Penney's Tanglewood store were up 2 percent over last August, Johnson said, and children's apparel sales increased 3 percent over August 1994.. The store didn't reach its expected sales level, he said, but he added that he is pleased with any increase over last August, which was a particularly strong sales month thanks to introduction of a coupon program.
Nationally, J.C. Penney Co. reported a 0.4 percent decline in August sales compared with last August and said that children's apparel sales were soft, while sales of athletic apparel and children's shoes were strong.
Sears Roebuck & Co., another traditional back-to-school supplier, reported a 3 percent increase, companywide, from August 1994 to August 1995, a significantly lower rise than July's 9 percent gain. Sears said the hot weather spurred sales of summer-related merchandise such as lawn and garden equipment, but hurt back-to-school sales.
At the Sears store at Valley View Mall, sales of kids' clothes strengthened in August after a slow July and are now better than they were at this time last year, said Kathy Boggess, manager of the children's clothing department. She, like Johnson, attributed the slow start to the heat - and the recent upswing to parents' sudden realization that September has arrived.
But other retailers discounted the effects of the heat and said that that their back-to-school selling season has been consistently strong, even during the heat waves.
"Apparel sales in general have been soft," said Pam Rucker, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. Heat certainly plays some role in back-to-school sales, she said, but to blame the low numbers solely on the weather doesn't make sense when apparel sales have been so sluggish across the board.
Debbie Grisso, manager of the Goody's family apparel store at Tanglewood Mall, said her store's August sales were up 15 percent over last year's figures.
"The kids want new stuff, even if it is hot outside," Grisso said. Denim has been popular for both boys and girls, she said, despite the fact that kids won't be able to wear a lot of it until the weather changes.
"Back to school is back to school - people are buying," said Mike Henderson, manager of the men's and boys' departments at the Leggett department store at Valley View Mall. Even big-ticket kids' clothes, like those from designer Tommy Hilfiger, are going fast, he said.
"We had a mother in the store the other night who bought $70 shoes for her son because that's what all the other kids are wearing," Henderson said.
Retailers have been aggressive with their back-to-school promotions this season to draw in customers turned off from fall shopping by the heat, Rucker said. Consumers have become accustomed to waiting until clothes are put on sale before buying, she said, and retailers are accommodating them with big mark-downs on everything from jeans to colored pencils.
"If it weren't for the sales, I don't think people would be buying much," said Jennifer Snyder, manager of Goody's children's department. "People know they aren't going to find these prices later."
Ruth Overfelt of Roanoke, who was browsing at Goody's with her 14-year-old son, Joseph, and 10-year-old daughter, Julia, said she has been shopping for summer clearance merchandise as much as back-to-school sales because the weather has been so hot. That way, she said, her kids will have new shorts to wear while it remains hot and new jeans - purchased on sale - when it turns cooler.
Because August often is considered a barometer of consumers' attitude for the key Christmas season, many analysts now predict a weaker Christmas than even last year's disappointing performance. Roanoke Valley retailers, though, are refusing to concede an early defeat.
"We're still cautiously optimistic about the holiday season," Johnson said.
by CNB