ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080064
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: HEATHER PAULY BLOOMBERG BUSINESS NEWS
CONSUMERS SPRANG for spring merchandise, giving some retailers their best figures in months.
U.S. retail sales in February surged to the highest level in 10 months as warm weather roused shoppers to buy spring merchandise.
Several major retailers posted their biggest sales increases in more than a year, thanks to strong demand for apparel.
While sales are expected to remain strong in March because of an early Easter holiday, that doesn't portend a swift recovery for the battered industry. Much of February's improvement came from pent-up demand after January's winter storms. And retailers still face biting competition, a glut of stores and tight consumer spending.
Here are February results reported by major chains operating stores in Western Virginia. The monthly sales are followed by the percentage of change from February 1995, and by the change in same-store sales, stores that have operated for at least 12 months. Same-store sales are considered a better indicator of a retailer's performance because they remove the impact of extraordinarily strong sales from opening new outlets.
* American Eagle Outfitters: sales of $17.7 million, up 26.4 percent from February 1995, same-store sales up 14.1 percent.
* Bombay Co.: $22.4 million, down 2.5 percent, down 9 percent.
* Charming Shoppes, parent of Fashion Bug and Fashion Bug Plus stores: $65.2 million, up 6 percent, up 12 percent.
* Circuit City: $533.5 million, up 21 percent, up 3 percent.
* Family Dollar Stores: $123.1 million, up 20.9 percent, up 13.9 percent.
* The Gap: $270 million, up 22 percent, up 4 percent.
* Heilig-Meyers: $89.3 million, up 29 percent, up 15.3 percent.
* Hills Department Stores: $95.7 million, up 6.8 percent, up 1.4 percent.
* J.C. Penney Co.: $1.06 billion, up 1.6 percent, down 0.1 percent.
* Kmart Corp.: $2.18 billion, up 3.7 percent, up 6 percent.
* Lechters: $26.1 million, up 3.2 percent, down 4.1 percent.
* The Limited Inc.: $539.8 million, up 16 percent, up 7 percent.
* Lowe's Cos.: $481.5 million, up 25 percent, up 9 percent.
* May Department Stores Co., parent of Hecht's and Payless ShoeSource stores: $684.3 million, up 14.6 percent, up 7.4 percent.
* S&K Famous Brands: $8.3 million, up 8 percent, up 1 percent.
* Sears, Roebuck and Co.: $2.45 billion, up 8.3 percent, up 5.1 percent.
* TJX Cos., parent of T.J. Maxx: $440 million, up 99 percent, up 7 percent.
* Wal-Mart Stores: $6.82 billion, up 11.5 percent, up 3.8 percent.
* Woolworth Corp.: $539 million, up 4.2 percent, up 3.8 percent.
Staff writer Megan Schnabel contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB