Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (5001)	12/3/2002 11:43:11 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

SALES ARE UP!!! But we had to stay open 24 hours to do it. EDIT new LOD coming by noon now 8761 Reuters Retail Sales Up but Holidays Looking Soft Tuesday December 3, 11:04 am ET By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa NEW YORK (Reuters) - Heavy promotions lured U.S. shoppers into malls for the start of the holiday buying season last week, but analysts doubted whether the gains would be sustained as Christmas nears. ADVERTISEMENT Sales at U.S. chain stores grew 0.3 percent in the week ended Nov. 30 after a 0.9 percent rise in the preceding week, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg said on Tuesday. A separate weekly reading of the retail sector, Instinet's Redbook report, showed a 0.5 percent gain in sales during the month of November. Price-cutting during last week's "Black Friday" -- the day after Thanksgiving when frantic shoppers turn retailers' red ink losses into black ink profits -- helped nudge otherwise lackluster monthly results into the plus column. "Extensive promotional activity and extended store hours helped to lure shoppers," Redbook said. But even though U.S. consumers crowded stores on what is usually the busiest shopping day of the year, the hurrah of post-Thanksgiving shopping may prove ephemeral, said analysts. Sales compared to last year grew an impressive 4 percent last week, according to the BTM report. But around this time last year, the nation was still shellshocked following the Sept. 11 attacks. "Consumer spending has been relatively choppy, and I'm not sure we've really changed anything on that front," said Mike Niemira, a senior economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi who closely follows the retail industry. "We're looking for slightly better results than the last couple of years, but the last couple of years have been a relatively dismal performance," he added. Analysts watch consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of national economic activity, as a gauge of the broader economy. A MIXED NOVEMBER November results varied widely. CVS Corp. (NYSE:CVS - News), the No. 2 U.S. drug store chain, said on Tuesday sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, increased 10.2 percent in November from a year earlier. The retailer, which ranks behind industry leader Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG - News), said total sales in the four weeks ended Nov. 23 also rose 10.2 percent, to $1.93 billion from $1.75 billion a year earlier. Walgreen Co. said on Tuesday same-store sales increased 7 percent in November from a year earlier. By contrast, large department stores continued to take a hit. May Department Stores Co. (NYSE:MAY - News), which runs a chain of well known retailers including Filene's, on Monday said sales at stores open more than one year fell 7.9 percent in November. WAL-MART RULES THE DAY Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - News), the world's biggest retailer, on Saturday reported record one-day sales for the day after Thanksgiving, which Redbook said represented a 14 percent gain over "Black Friday" last year. Wal-Mart said it racked up $1.43 billion in sales on Friday at its U.S. stores. That compares to sales of $1.25 billion last year, and is the biggest single-day sales figure ever for the retailer. The Bank-of-Tokyo Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot looks at sales on a week-to-week basis and is compiled from seven major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results. The weekly Redbook Retail Sales Average, released by Instinet Research, is a sales-weighted average of year-on-year sales growth at discount, department and chain stores open at least a year. Seasonally adjusted month-to-month changes are derived from dollar sales estimates. biz.yahoo.com