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The Record, Hackensack, N.J., retail column(Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 9--April sales results were the sunniest for the nation's retailers in four months. However, economists warned that recessionary rain clouds still could be in the forecast. Sales at stores open at least a year increased an average of 3.6 percent compared with April 2007, for the 35 national retailers tracked by the International Council of Shopping Centers, topping the ICSC's estimate of a gain of as much as 2 percent. Two retailers with North Jersey connections were top performers in April. Secaucus-based The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. said sales at its namesake children's clothing stores increased 15 percent after shedding The Disney Store chain. Aeropostale Inc., which houses 90 executives and support staff in Wayne, led the teen-apparel segment with sales growth of 25 percent. But analysts and economists said the numbers, while a marked improvement over March's sales decline of 0.5 percent, aren't cause for celebration. The April results were boosted by a combination of factors that won't repeat themselves in May. First, April had one more shopping day than March, when sales were lost because of Easter-related store closings. Second, retailers faced easy comparisons to April 2007, when sales fell an average of 1.9 percent. Aeropostale, for example, had a sales drop of 14 percent in April 2007, making it easier for the chain to report a 25 increase this April. "The numbers out today are a bit deceptive," said Frank Badillo, senior economist at THS Retail Forward, a retail consulting and research firm. "The numbers look pretty good, but probably should have been a lot better given the easy comparisons to last year," he said. When you strip out some of the factors that boosted April's results, Badillo said, the conclusion remains that "shoppers really are in cutback mode." The calendar shift, which put an extra selling day in April, boosted The Children's Place results by an estimated 3 percentage points, the company estimated Thursday. Spring vacations that fell in April may have boosted results at the teen apparel retailers such as Aeropostale, as teenagers hit the malls. Teen retailers surprised analysts by posting results that were much more robust than expected. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. gained 6 percent and American Eagle's sales rose 2 percent. Gap Inc., however, continued to struggle, reporting a sales drop of 6 percent for the entire company, and a 12 percent decline for its Old Navy division. Warehouse clubs and discounters continued to prove to be the retailers most resistant to the downturn. BJ's Wholesale Clubs Inc. led the warehouse clubs with 17.8 percent growth, followed by Costco Wholesale Corp., which added 8 percent. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted better-than-expected growth of 3.2 percent. Target Corp.'s sales rose 3.1 percent. "With the exception of a couple of the teen retailers, it's pretty much what I expect," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, which surveys shoppers about their spending habits. "The membership warehouse clubs are consistently the only winners every month." He believes shoppers are rewarding merchants that roll back prices, or offer special promotions. Aeropostale, he said, is viewed as one of the more affordable, yet fashionable, teen retailers. The teen spending boost also could be the result of pent-up demand following a cold and rainy March, and the right merchandise, said Ken Perkins, research analyst for Retail Metrics Inc. "Aeropostale and Abercrombie did a really good job of having their finger on the pulse of what's hot this spring," Perkins said. "For Aeropostale to do a 25 percent comp [same-store increase] is pretty impressive, even though their number was really weak last year." Last year, Aeropostale unveiled a new store format at Willowbrook Mall. Perkins is predicting the federal tax rebates will provide a small boost in May. "A good portion of that rebate is earmarked for bills, for debt payment, and gas and groceries," he said. E-mail: [email protected] To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NorthJersey.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |