No Spring in Dampened March '01 Retail Sales
Dismal March retail sales failed to put a spring back into a retail arena with an already chilling economy. With colder than expected weather in March, seasonal apparel and lawn-and-garden merchandise accounted for over one-third of the comparable-store-sales decline, according to Alan Lacy, CEO of Hoffman Estates, Ill.’s Sears.
Sears reported a 5.3 percent decrease in same-store sales in March, blaming the colder-than-expected weather and the eroding economy on the downturn.
The current spiral in sales will also dictate the sales patterns for the next three to four months, according to Kurt Bernard, president of Bernard’s Retail Trend Report.
“This is one of the worst months I’ve seen in the 25 years I’ve been tracking retail sales,” said Bernard.Not everyone is pessimistic about the continued decline in retail sales. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that the economy is not in a recession and actually predicts an increase in consumer spending by the end of this year.The NRF points to several factors as the source for its optimism, including a stable housing market, the Federal Reserve’s multiple interest rate cuts which they predict will spark refinancing activity, thus delivering more cash to consumer pockets and a still-positive job market.
Among the hardest hit by the downturn were Dillard’s, trailed by Talbots, Gap, Saks, Ann Taylor and Sears, which all had decreases in same-store sales.
Perhaps the best indicators of the downturn were Hingham, Mass.-based Talbots and Menomonee, Wis.-based Kohl’s, both of which reported strong sales in previous months (a 9.3 percent increase in same-store sales for Talbots and a 7.3 percent increase in same-store sales for Kohl’s in February reports). Last month, however, both stores were prime indicators of the sharp continued downturn, with Talbots bearing a disappointing 8.1 percent decrease and Kohl’s facing a 1.9 percent decrease in same-store sales for March.
Big discounters saw the best of March sales; however, Bentonville, Ark.’s Wal-Mart saw less than amazing results, reporting a 3.5 percent increase in same-store sales compared to a 5.3 percent increase during the same time period one year ago. —Darryl James
