July comps off to a good start

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/12/2011 2:00:29 PM

New York - With an assist from the Fourth of July holiday weekend, retailers kicked off the month ahead of plan, according to the Johnson Redbook.
Same-store sales in the discount segment jumped 6.1% while the department store channel rang up a 4.2% increase. With the holiday falling one day later than last year and falling over a weekend, the sales impact stretched into two weekly reporting periods.
Redbook analyst Catlin Levis noted that the focus in July is on clearing seasonal inventories.
"Sales performance is typically driven by discounting, which can vary sharply from week-to-week depending on individual store promotions and the availability of goods on sale," she said.