September Retail Sales Stronger at Month#039;s End
September retail sales ended on positive note, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index.
Retail sales for the week ending Oct. 1 rose slightly by 0.1 percent, the index noted, but sales declined for the weeks ending Sept. 17 and Sept. 24. Sales dropped 1.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, compared with the same weeks in the previous year.ICSC Chief Economist Michael Niemira said September’s performance was not much different from August’s retail sales.
“Receding gasoline prices are one of the few bright spots which helped to improve the consumer’s discretionary purchasing power and likely helped support the small week-on-week gain,” he said.
Wet, cold weather across parts of America spurred demand for fall clothes, said Adrienne Tennant, managing director for financial firm Janney Capital Markets. In an Oct. 4 research note, she wrote that retailers produced heavy promotions during the month, which lured consumers to malls. At Ann Taylor stores, consumers enjoyed a “buy a full-price item and get a second item 50 percent off” deal. At Hot Topic stores, consumers took advantage of a similar deal of “buy a music T-shirt at full price and get a second T-shirt 50 percent off.”
Zumiez Inc. reported its same-store sales increased 10.1 percent in September. The Everett, Wash.–based surf and skate retailer reported $52.9 million in total net sales for September, compared with $44.7 million last year. The sales were better than planned, and the company increased its guidance on Oct. 5. It forecast its fiscal 2011 third-quarter sales to be $150 million to $152 million. Diluted shares were projected 40 to 41 cents, an increase from the previously issued guidance of 37 to 39 cents per diluted share, according to a company statement.—Andrew Asch
