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April Retail Sales Rally
Retail sales in April took an upswing in all categories.
“April’s pickup in sales is encouraging,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers. “It is most likely being boosted by a stronger household-wealth effect from higher home and stock-market prices.”
But sales were slowed by unseasonably cold weather throughout the United States, he said.
For April, The TJX Companies Inc., the parent company of off-price chain TJ Maxx, reported same-store sales increased 8 percent compared with the same period last year. In March it posted a 2 percent decline.
San Francisco–based Gap Inc., the largest specialty retailer in the world, said same-store sales were up 7 percent. In March, it posted a 1 percent decline.
Specialty store-retailers Bebe Stores Inc. and Hot Topic Inc., both headquartered in California, had weak results.
On May 9, Bebe released sales results for its third quarter. Comparable-store sales declined 8.6 percent, compared with a 7.2 percent increase the previous year. Third-quarter net sales were $112.9 million, down 6.7 percent from $121 million in the same quarter the previous year.
Hot Topic on May 8 reported its first-quarter sales for 2013. Same-store sales declined 1.6 percent for the quarter, compared with a 7.5 percent increase the previous year. Net sales for Hot Topic’s first quarter were $174.8 million, compared with $171.6 million the previous year.
