Same-store sales off to slow start

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 4/19/2005 1:45:00 PM

NEW YORK — Hobbled by spotty weather throughout parts of the country, and hurt by high gas prices, same-store retail sales remained weak and beneath expectations for a second straight week, the Johnson Redbook Index reported.

Same-store sales inched up just 1.5 percent during the second week of April, softening further from a modest increase the preceding month. And for the two weeks month-to-date, sales rose just 1.6 percent, missing a target of 1.9 percent growth.

Surprisingly, both discounters and department stores grew their sales at the same pace during the first two weeks of the month — by 1.7 percent during the opener, and by 1.5 percent during the second week.