International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) announced the chain store sales results for November 2005.
According to Michael Niemira, ICSC's Chief Economist and Director of Research, Chain store sales rose 3.5 percent year on year for November, helped by retailer promotions kicking off the holiday season.
He suggests, however, that retailers will be hoping sales pick up for the rest of the holiday season as well.
Niemira stated that despite the fact that November sales were in line with our projection, the strength was largely driven by promotions and did not provide as strong of a start to the holiday season as some retailers would have liked.
As a result, December retail sales are now that much more critical to the overall success for the holiday season and the industry.
Footwear stores led the risers, with a 10.5 percent category increase. Shoe Carnival was the top performer here, up 12.8 percent, and Payless ShoeSource posted respectable sales too, up 9 percent.
Drugstores also did well, with a 7 percent rise across the category. CVS had a lot to do with that, gaining 7 percent all by itself.
Wholesale clubs climbed 6.1 percent overall, with Wal-Mart's Sam's Club up 7 percent and Costco gaining 6 percent.
Apparel stores rose 3.2 percent as a category, and the standouts there were Abercromie & Fitch, which rose 23 percent, and Ann Taylor, up 12.9 percent.
Department stores edged up 0.6 percent on the back of a Neiman Marcus gain of 4 percent and JCPenney's rise of 3.6 percent.
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 54,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals as well as academics and public officials.
International Council of Shopping Centers
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