ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090081
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
Blizzards and arctic temperatures made for an erratic performance in the retail business during January. But the sales figures released Thursday, which closed out a difficult fiscal year, did contain a few positive notes.
While brutal weather in the East and Midwest kept shoppers out of stores, merchants were largely able to shrug off lost business because January is one of the least significant months in the retail calendar. Consumers generally spend the month assessing the damage they did to their finances at Christmas, while retailers are clearing away leftover winter merchandise.
For some retailers, January sales were strong despite the bad weather. Dayton Hudson Corp.'s Target stores had a good month, and Gap Inc. continued to show a rebound after a mostly difficult 1995.
But many retailers were still struggling. Sales fell at J.C. Penney Co. Inc. as many apparel retailers remained in what has become a long slump.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, posted a modest gain, not the more robust pace it enjoyed for much of last year. Thomas J. Tashjian, a retailing analyst with Montgomery Securities Inc. in San Francisco, said competition in the discount store business is hurting many retailers in that segment.
January is the final month of the fiscal year for most retailers. Wal-Mart increased its lead over all other merchants, closing out the year with $93.6 billion in total sales. No other store comes close to Wal-Mart, which became the nation's No.1 retailer five years ago. Sears, Roebuck and Co., the second-largest retailer, had $36.37 billion in sales in the just-ended year.
It was a tough year for many retailers, as already cautious consumers became even more frugal. More than a thousand clothing stores closed.
The new year is expected to be equally difficult. Apparel seller Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. has announced it is going out of business, and analysts predict there will be more casualties because there are still too many stores and not enough consumer spending to support them.
The Salomon Brothers retail index, the investment firm's barometer of sales performance, rose 1.7 percent in January after a 1.8 percent gain in December. In January 1995, the index rose 6.1 percent.
Here are January results reported by major chains operating stores in Western Virginia. The monthly sales are followed by the percentage of change from January 1995, and by the change in same-store sales, stores that have operated for at least 12 months. Same-store sales are considered the best measure of sales strength because they don't include store openings, closings or expansions.
American Eagle Outfitters: sales of $20.3 million, up 41.4 percent from January 1995, same-store sales up 5.6 percent.
Bombay Co.: $26.7 million, up 15 percent, down 10 percent.
Charming Shoppes, parent of Fashion Bug and Fashion Bug Plus stores: $63.4 million, down 9 percent, down 5 percent.
Family Dollar Stores: $92.4 million, up 5.4 percent, down 1.4 percent.
The Gap: $315 million, up 48 percent, up 6 percent.
Heilig-Meyers: $64.9 million, down 3.7 percent, down 23.6 percent.
Hills Department Stores: $89.7 million, up 19.2 percent, down 9 percent.
J.C. Penney: $1.08 billion, down 2.5 percent, down 2.8 percent.
Kmart: $1.95 billion, up 2.9 percent, up 5.5 percent.
Lechters: $32.7 million, up 9.3 percent, down 10.2 percent.
The Limited Inc.: $421.2 million, up 6 percent, down 2 percent.
Lowe's: $405.9 million, up 8 percent, down 8 percent.
May Department Stores Co., parent of Hecht's and Payless ShoeSource stores: $515.3 million, up 7 percent, up 0.7 percent.
S&K Famous Brands: $7.5 million, up 7 percent, up 2 percent.
Sears: $2.28 billion, up 5.3 percent, up 0.6 percent.
TJX Cos., parent of T.J. Maxx: $431 million, up 88 percent, unchanged.
Wal-Mart: $7.6 billion, up 11.8 percent, up 1.3 percent.
Woolworth Corp.: $576 million, down 0.2 percent, down 2.7 percent.
Staff writer Megan Schnabel contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by AP.by CNB