After a Good Holiday, ICSC Forecasts January
More good news might be coming to the retail industry. After mostly positive retail sales were reported for December (The International Council of Shopping Centers reported U.S. chain-store sales increased 2.8 percent last month), the ICSC forecast decent sales in January, traditionally a month when many retailers focus on nothing more than getting rid of old inventory to make room for new Spring fashions.
According to the ICSC, January sales are forecasted to either be flat or show an increase of 1 percent. Better yet, sales will improve during the rest of 2010, the ICSC said in a Jan. 7 statement. The New York-based shopping-center trade group expected an increase of 3 percent to 3.5 percent in 2010 compared with the generally miserable sales year of 2009.
While many forecasts are as useful as last year’s news, ICSC’s predictions have been more accurate than other trade groups lately. It forecast sales for the 2009 holiday retail season, or the combined months of November and December, would increase 1 percent to 2 percent. By the time receipts were all in, ICSC reported a 1.8 percent increase in holiday sales.
Analyst Liz Pierce of Roth Capital Partners recommended no one raise their expectations for a great January. She forecast that retailers’ sales will start climbing again either when weather changes and people need new clothes or during a major sales season such as Back-to-School. It typically hits in mid-summer.
