July same-store sales finish on high note   

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/7/2007 12:33:00 PM

New York – Back-to-school and sales-tax holidays helped merchants finish the July retail month with a 3.2% comparable store sales gain in the fourth week, and up 2.9% for the month, just above the 2.8% goal, the Johnson Redbook reported today.

July comps were 0.6% above June’s, exceeding the 0.5% target.

“Shoppers stocked up on tax-free school supplies, computers, clothing and footwear in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia,” observed Redbook analyst Catlin Levis.

Discounters achieved a 2.7% comp gain for July, beating the 2.4% goal. The 3.2% comp gain by department stores, however, missed that channel’s goal of a 3.6% gain.

“Our preliminary target for August is 3.2% same-store growth, leaving the month about 0.3% ahead of July.” said Levis.

Most retailers will report July sales on Thursday, Aug. 9.