US chain store sales fell 2.7 pct 3 wks May

Biz.Yahoo/Reuters ^ | May 27, 2003

[Starwind]

US chain store sales fell 2.7 pct 3 wks May-report Wednesday May 28, 8:57 am ET

NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. chain stores have fallen sharply so far in May as heavy promotions have failed to lure shoppers to stores, a report said on Wednesday.Chain store sales slipped 2.7 percent in the first three weeks of May compared with the same period in April, Instinet said in its weekly Redbook report. But sales for the week ended May 24 grew 1.5 percent compared with the same week last year.

"The persistence of unseasonable weather the past few weeks, at the start of the spring selling season, raised the possibility that stores will have to take markdowns and cut margins from mid-June onward in order to clear seasonal goods," the report said.

The Redbook Average is compiled from a sample of general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same-store sales measure revenue at stores open at least a year. The index is published by Instinet Research, a division of Reuters-owned electronic brokerage Instinet.

[Starwind]

Fyi...

[SamAdams76]

Well I don't know how much of an impact it had nationwide, but we have had a brutal spring in the Northeast this year. Normally by this time of year, I would have already been to Home Depot and Wal-Mart multiple times, getting outside stuff. I would have had my garden planted, mulch spread throughout the yard and many other improvements to the outside.

Instead, I continue to run the heat in my house as it has been extremely cold and wet (for the season). This past weekend, the temperature didn't climb out of the 40s and I almost went out to get some firewood so I could get my fireplace cranking!

Here it is, almost June, and I have yet to break out the shorts. It's been miserable. The average day so far in May has been damp and cloudy with high temperatures about 50-55 degrees. We've only had a handful of days in which it reached 70 and the extended 15-day forecast on Accuweather.com shows another two weeks of mostly rainy and cool conditions around here. I want to take those global warming folks and strangle them.

[arete]

This past weekend, the temperature didn't climb out of the 40s and I almost went out to get some firewood so I could get my fireplace cranking!

Yeah, I was in PA last week and it was almost frosty. Can't always explain away declining sales because of the weather though.

Richard W.

[SamAdams76]

Can't always explain away declining sales because of the weather though.

Well it definitely had an impact in this household. This nasty weather just makes you want to hunker down and watch DVDs. We just had a three-day weekend and other than my daily walks, I didn't go anywhere due to all the cold and rain. Painted my downstairs bathroom and caught up on some reading (and Freeping). We had plans to get some picnic tables for the yard this weekend as well as some yard tools. Forget about it. 45 degrees in May is like 0 degrees in January. You just want to stay inside and keep warm.

[RipSawyer]

Down here in South Carolina we have had maybe two or three days that were normal temperature for the season, meaning high eighties or ninety degrees. The rest of the time it has been very pleasant when it wasn't raining. Normally by this time people are complaining abouth the heat and I have actually seen temps over one hundred in May in past years.

[RipSawyer]

I forgot to mention that it is sixty four degrees at ten thirty AM as I am typing. Normal for this time of day on this date is probably eighty to eighty five degrees.

[holdmuhbeer]

Sounds miserable, and I was complaining about the weather we were having in NC this spring. Its been very wet and cooler than usual but not cold here.

[OldFriend]

Darn right it was the weather. Still have the heat on here in central NJ.......cold and rainy, cold and cloudy, still wearing corduroy slax and sweatshirts.......more cold and dreary on the way.

[imawit]

OK, nuff about the weather. It's been the same way in LA except for these two days following the holiday.

So with the weather, the drop in sales, and also the drop in durable goods (see another post), who's having the party over on Wall Street. Any fundamentals I'm missing that should be telling me to buy ?

Oh, I know, investing is all emotional and psychological Phd stuff. Has nothing to do with the economy or the weather. Maybe it takes 3 dozen blizzards, 18 tornados and 6 earthquakes before the market realises there maybe an economical impact.

[Labyrinthos]

Normally by this time of year, I would have already been to Home Depot and Wal-Mart multiple times, getting outside stuff. I would have had my garden planted, mulch spread throughout the yard and many other improvements to the outside.

Although I generally refuse to shop at Home Depot and Walmart, I have not spent nearly as much at the local hardward store and garden store as I normally would have by this time of the year during a normal spring. The weather -- and not the economy -- is definately the reason why, and I think I can speak for a lot of other people here in the Northeast.

[waterstraat]

It is not the weather folks. Kmart for years said it was the weather that lowered their sales, yet Walmart was unaffected by the weather. Weather is very overrated, unless there is a huge snowstorm. We have changing demographics in this country. What do immigrants, mexicans, asians, buy? Spending patterns are different.

Furthermore, people who are unemployed, or under employed, do not spend as much. When you lose 2 1/2 million jobs in 2 years, dont expect retail sales to keep increasing. A person who was outsourced or had his factory close, is not going to keep spending.

You have to understand globalism. Domestic sales are supposed to be lower, but it is supposed to be more than made up for by our exploding exports to India, Mexico, Canada, korea, russia, and china. The citizens of china are supposed to be buying much more american made goods than what we are losing. That is how free trade works.

[imawit]

uh oh. Looks like bad weather is moving over Wall Street. Or is it good weather. Anybody there to go outside and give a report ?

[OldFriend]

There is something strange about the numbers......if there are a record number of new homes being built.......are they not purchasing washing machines, refrigerators, heating and cooling systems, plumbing fixtures.......?

[arete]

There is something strange about the numbers......if there are a record number of new homes being built.......are they not purchasing washing machines, refrigerators, heating and cooling systems, plumbing fixtures.......?

Yeah, it would seem so. I've stopped trying to make sense out of the current economy though.

Richard W.

[OldFriend]

sheet rock, cement blocks, sinks, lighting fixtures......

Something wrong with the figures.....

[Katya]

Someone please tell me where a quiet major retailer is located. I'm frankly tired of waiting in long lines...I've yet to see any sign of recession.

[JNB]

Go to the old malls and old shopping centers in the inner suburbs in most metro areas, you will see short lines, if any lines at all there. Go to old downtown areas in towns and small cities, you will find short lines, granted if you are able to find a occupied storefront there.

So many of these "There is no recession because all the retailers I see are jammed up" fail to take into account older shoping centers that have 50% vacancy rates.