RETAIL SALES
September Retail Sales Lack Gusto
Apparel retailers, short on new fashion trends and coping with warm weather, reported weak sales in September.
Overall, retail sales climbed 4 percent over last year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. But apparel sales as a separate category posted only a 0.1 percent increase for the month. (ICSC’s apparel performance results didn’t include Gap Inc., which announced its September sales after the market closed Oct. 10.)
Among all retail stores, drugstores had the healthiest showing, with 6 percent growth in September, the best performance for the category since April 2007, the ISCS said in a statement.
Ken Perkins, president of Boston-area market-research firm Retail Metrics Inc., wrote in an Oct. 9 research note that September sales were hurt by a number of trends.
“September proved to be a difficult month as Back-to-School sales were lackluster at best,” he wrote. “The fashion cycle was uninspiring, weather was warmer than average, hurting buy-now, wear-now apparel purchases. Income gains remained subdued; consumer confidence waned, in part attributable to government-shutdown worries; and consumers continued to focus on bigger-ticket purchases, such as autos, housing and student loans.”
Retail analyst Adrienne Tennant of Janney Capital Markets wrote in her Oct. 9 research note that the tough market trends may continue. “We have seen generally 'deeper' promotions throughout the month, after a below-plan BTS season. We expect October promotional levels to maintain the depth and aggressiveness seen in September.”
For September, one of the top-performing retailers was off-price chain Stein Mart Inc. Its same-store sales increased 5 percent in September compared with last year.
Specialty stores serving younger customers suffered during September. Same-store sales for The Buckle Inc. declined 4.5 percent compared with last year. Zumiez Inc.’s same-store sales declined 0.6 percent.
