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To: Dealer who wrote (45527)	12/21/2001 2:20:10 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

U.S. retailers face tepid pre-Christmas weekend By Ellis Mnyandu NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - U.S. retailers have slashed prices and are staying open late this weekend, the last before Christmas, in hopes of a big rush of last-minute buying from shoppers, who have been unusually tight-fisted this year. But analysts said on Friday that even if the markdowns and extended store hours boost store traffic, the discounts are so deep that prospects of a recovery in profits are dim. ``I don't see anything that retailers are doing significantly swaying people's decisions at this point,'' said Russell Jones, vice president retail consulting at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. ``There's been so many sales and discounting started early enough that at this point I don't think people will be persuaded to shop based on the new discounts that are being offered,'' he added. Retailers, particularly those that sell apparel and luxury items like jewelry, suffered lousy sales last year and the attacks of Sept. 11 hit consumer confidence going into this year's holiday shopping season. CHOOSY SHOPPERS But, as Christmas grows closer, shoppers continue to be choosy in their spending, concentrating mainly on retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news), which sells cut-price food, household detergents, medicine and clothing. That spending shift has in turn forced retailers like the nation's largest clothing chain, Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS - news), to rely on deep markdowns in order to liquidate inventory and get shoppers spending. Holiday purchases account for as much as one-quarter of many retailers' annual sales, but with the holiday season having started slow, a single weekend is seen less likely to provide any comfort. ``It's obviously been a difficult year. I don't think the pattern of this being a very difficult period will change on the strength of just one weekend,'' Robert Kerson, president of Korn/Ferry International's Global Retail/Fashion Group. ``The apparel business will continue to be under pressure,'' he said, adding that most retailers may already be focusing on plans for after Christmas and the spring. EXTENDED STORE HOURS Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE:S - news) -- the nation's fourth-largest retailer -- and value-priced retailer Kohl's Corp. (NYSE:KSS - news) announced on Friday that they have scheduled longer store hours to capture any last-minute shopping rush. A spokesman for Kohl's, which is based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, said it will open its stores on Saturday from 7 a.m. to midnight and carry 50 percent discounts on items like selected outerwear, footwear and up to 60 percent off fine jewelry. A Sears spokeswoman said its stores will open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday. ``We are hopeful that this will be a very solid weekend,'' she said, but said it was still on track for a ``decrease'' in December same-store sales from ``low to mid-single digits''. biz.yahoo.com