Retailers celebrate President's Day

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Getting a lift from President's Day sales, same-store retail sales for the third week of February came in well ahead of plan, most notably at the nation's department stores, The Redbook Average reported.

Same-store sales climbed by 5.6 percent, besting gains of 4.4 percent and 5.2 percent recorded in the first two weeks of the month. For the three weeks month-to-date, sales advanced by 5.1 percent, well ahead of a target of 4.5 percent growth.

Department stores turned in a particularly strong performance, with sales rising by 5 percent, beating the gains of the two prior weeks, which came in at 3.1 percent and 4.1 percent respectively. Through the first three weeks of the month, sales at department stores jumped up by 4.1 percent, sharply ahead of a target of 3.3 percent growth.

Discounters performed strongly as well, their sales in the week rising by 5.9 percent. For the three weeks month-to-date, discounter sales rose by 5.7 percent, exceeding the 5.3 percent target.

"Most retailers said sales for the week were generally satisfactory, and many indicated they were trending on, or slightly ahead of, plan month-to-date," said Redbook Analyst Catlin Levis. "Some department stores came in ahead of plan for the week and remained comfortably above plan for the month as a whole."

The week's big gain, said Levis, "especially for department stores, came from President's Day sales. These stores saw relative strength in spring apparel and other seasonal goods as customers reacted favorably to early spring merchandise. The less promotional discount stores were more mixed."

The analyst added, "The week was also helped by a favorable year-over-year comparison due to winter storms last year, as well as consumers fear of terrorist activities during this time last year.

"Additionally, February represents the start of the spring season, and a renewed focus on full-price selling — with tight inventory control and fewer incentives in the form of clearance sales and inventory markdowns — helping margins."

Redbook Retail Sales Average
Third week of February