Wal-Mart and the warehouse club stores were exceptions, but a majority of retailers reporting September sales reported declines compared with last year. In addition, “Thomson Reuters reported that 71% of the stores it tracks on its same-store sales index had failed to meet analysts’ expectations, and that retail growth dropped to 0.8% — the worst September performance since the company began collecting data in 2000.” Here is econo-speak from an executive in the particularly-hard-hit apparel segment, and it doesn’t auger well for the Holiday season. “Our disappointing September sales results reflect the deteriorating macro economic environment.” The Wall Street Journal Oct. 13, 2008 Paid subscription may be required.
Oct 132008
Analyst: Holiday Season May be Worst in 25 Years
Bricks-and-Mortar, Research, Trends, Forecasts
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Oct 082008
With September sales info for retail stores coming in, there’s no surprise: it’s bad. Same-store sales at Stein Mart, J.C. Penney and Dillard’s all dropped by double-digit percentages last month, while warehouse clubs bucked the trend to post gains. “In general, the weakest categories were non-essentials like house wares, electronics, jewelry and women’s apparel. Sales were driven by and large by necessities like food and, in some cases, children’s clothing.” One observer worried that this could be a Holiday seasons of movie tickets and board games. The New York Times Oct. 8, 2008
