Posted on 09/03/2009 9:07:01 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Back-to-school sales flunk
Most retailers posting declines in August, indicating continued weakness in the consumer sector.
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
Last Updated: September 3, 2009: 10:29 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Back-to-school sales for major national retailers fell from last year, but the results were stronger than analysts expected, thanks in part to discounters.
August same-store sales, sales at stores open a year or more, fell 2.9% overall from last year, Thomson Reuters reported. Analysts had expected a 3.8% decline as consumers continue to feel the pinch of the recession.
"The overall index was not good by any means, but it was still almost a full percentage point above expectations," noted Ken Perkins, analyst at Retail Metrics.
Thomson said some shoppers who normally would have spent back-to-school money in August are likely waiting until the later Labor Day weekend in September. The fact that the Labor Day weekend was earlier last year, shifting the school schedule, also made year-over-year comparisons difficult.
While all five sectors -- discount, department, apparel, teen apparel and drugstores -- were down compared with August 2008, some fared better than others.
"It's bad, but it seems to be in line with expectations," said analyst Scott Hoyt at Moody's Economy.com. "These numbers are consistent with weak consumer fundamentals
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
"It's bad, but it seems to be in line with expectations,"
All spin all the time.
Luv it....”hint...hint....hint”. Just wait for the retail numbers from the hated Christian, hating Santa , once celebrated widely American Holiday. Probably the leanest in the last 40 years may just well come in a % profit view.
“When the bomb went off, I was sure we were all dead. Fortunately, our casualty rate was only 95%, so I was pretty darn pleased!”
“The overall index was not good by any means, but it was still **(almost)** a full percentage point above expectations,”
That sounds like something Obama would say.
It is interesting that no one in the SRM (state run media) is asking Ben Ben, Turbo Timmy, Congress, Nancy Polesuki, or Zero exactly what is happening to the bank bailout dollars being and already paid back to Uncle Sam?
With the goobermint getting the dollars back, that 'spending package' should be coming back to a $0 balance very soon....however, I get the sneaky feeling the US tax payer will still be left holding the tab as the Whores-On-The-Hill will make some excuse that the paid back billions needs to be spent.
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