A bit of info for GYMB shareholders:
Tuesday December 2, 6:57 pm Eastern Time
November retail sales seen growing modestly
By William Borden
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - November sales at U.S. retailers are expected to show a modest increase as stores kicked
off the all-important holiday shopping season.
Analysts and industry observers said Tuesday they are expecting retailers, who will report sales figures Thursday, to show
November sales at stores open at least one year, up 2 percent to 5 percent.
An International Council of Shopping Centers survey of 2,500 stores at 49 regional malls found that sales between Nov. 28-30
increased by an average of 2.8 percent from last year's levels. The days included ''Black Friday,'' the post-Thanksgiving
shopping day that begins the busy period for retailers ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.
''It was a good weekend that seems to be in line with what experts expect for the season,'' said John Konarski, vice president
of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
''We think the kickoff (of the shopping season) was quite solid,'' Thomas Filandro, Gerard Klauer Mattison retailing analyst,
said.
Increased promotions in early November are expected to help sales results, but analysts are noticing that the Thanksgiving
weekend is not as important as it once was.
Konarski said ''Black Friday,'' once traditionally the busiest day of the year, was only the fifth busiest day last year. Dec. 21,
the Saturday before Christmas last year, was the busiest, he said.
Shoppers are shifting their purchases earlier in November and closer to Christmas, analysts said.
While merchandise has not been marked down too severely, merchants have stepped up promotional efforts to build sales
through advertising or other means, such as the sweepstakes that each Sears Roebuck and Co. store held for a $500 shopping
spree.
Sears Spokeswoman Jan Drummond said the chain's sales over the holiday weekend met its internal plans and were
''encouraging.'' At Dayton Hudson Corp., the parent of Mervyn's department stores and discounter Target, sales were at or
above its plans.
NationsBanc Montgomery Securities issued a report from Analyst Tom Tashjian that said deparment stores will show mixed
November same-store sales that average 1 percent to 3 percent growth with upscale retailers such as Nordstrom Inc., Saks
Holdings Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. outperforming mainstream retailers.
Tashjian expects discount stores to report same-store sales -- sales for stores open at least one year -- to increase 5 percent to
6 percent, with most stores meeting their internal forecasts.
Jewelry sales are expected to be mixed and retailers devoted to the teen-age market are expected to post strong November
results.
Filandro, who covers specialty retailers at Gerard Klauer, said apparel retailers will do well with single digit same-store sales
increases because they are not marking down items. Also, the fashion cycle is moving away from ''basics,'' which carry lower
profit margins, and toward branded merchandise.
Fewer markdowns should help fourth quarter results for retailers, most of whom report their results after the period ends in
January.
Filandro expects American Eagle Outfitters Inc., which sells casual apparel and footwear, to post same-store sales growth of at
least 8 percent to 10 percent.
Gymboree Corp., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Gap Inc. and Intimate Brands Inc. are expected to report same-store sales
growth in the 1 percent to 4 percent range, Filandro said.
Each of those have room to top expectations with Gymboree and the Express unit of the Limited Inc. showing signs of vast
improvement, Filandro said.
''I think there were a lot of initiatives to get customers to shop before (the) holiday,'' Filandro said. ''I don't think retailers are
buying the business (with higher markdowns), but that should lead to higher profits.''
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