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'Awful' November is worst month in decades
By Anne D'Innocenzio
Associated Press
Published on Friday, Dec 05, 2008
NEW YORK: Retailers who suffered through a miserable November — despite a surge in sales the day after Thanksgiving — are worried that the usual lull between the holiday weekend and the final days before Christmas could be dangerously quiet this year.
Worries about the holiday season increased Thursday after many retailers — with Wal-Mart the notable exception — reported November sales so dismal it was the industry's worst month since at least 1969. The malaise cut across all sectors as shoppers worried about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds and focused on necessities.
''It's an awful beginning to the holiday season,'' said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. ''This is going to be a difficult holiday season for most retailers. There are going to be more bankruptcies.'' He predicted that the retrenchment in spending will linger for at least another six months.
Worries about the economy have helped Wal-Mart, which reported a 3.4 percent gain in same-store sales, surpassing the 2.1 percent increase that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. The results excluded sales from fuel.
Target Corp., which has been stumbling as its merchandise focuses more on nonessentials like trendy clothes, reported a 10.4 percent drop. And most mall-based chains and department stores fared even worse, with Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Nordstrom Inc., and Kohl's Corp. reporting percentage declines exceeding 15 percent.
Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.
According to the Goldman Sachs-International Council of Shopping Centers index, same-store sales dropped 2.7 percent for November, making it the worst month since at least 1969, when the index began. November's results were even more miserable than the 1 percent drop that Niemira anticipated.
NEW YORK: Retailers who suffered through a miserable November — despite a surge in sales the day after Thanksgiving — are worried that the usual lull between the holiday weekend and the final days before Christmas could be dangerously quiet this year.
Worries about the holiday season increased Thursday after many retailers — with Wal-Mart the notable exception — reported November sales so dismal it was the industry's worst month since at least 1969. The malaise cut across all sectors as shoppers worried about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds and focused on necessities.
''It's an awful beginning to the holiday season,'' said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. ''This is going to be a difficult holiday season for most retailers. There are going to be more bankruptcies.'' He predicted that the retrenchment in spending will linger for at least another six months.
Worries about the economy have helped Wal-Mart, which reported a 3.4 percent gain in same-store sales, surpassing the 2.1 percent increase that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. The results excluded sales from fuel.
Target Corp., which has been stumbling as its merchandise focuses more on nonessentials like trendy clothes, reported a 10.4 percent drop. And most mall-based chains and department stores fared even worse, with Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Nordstrom Inc., and Kohl's Corp. reporting percentage declines exceeding 15 percent.
Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.
According to the Goldman Sachs-International Council of Shopping Centers index, same-store sales dropped 2.7 percent for November, making it the worst month since at least 1969, when the index began. November's results were even more miserable than the 1 percent drop that Niemira anticipated.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 09:52 AM, 12/05/2008
Whine, whine, whine. What's pathetic is that these major retailers place all their bets on one four-to-six week period to balance out their whole fiscal year.
Idiots in the boardrooms blaming everything and everybody but themselves and their own lack of business sense and innovation. Sounds a lot like the "Big 3".