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Retailers post sales gains
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July 6, 2000: 2:45 p.m. ET
Chains show strong same-store sales in June; clothing, furniture cited
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sales rose at most U.S. retailers in June on solid demand for clothing, home furnishings and electronics, aided by a five-week rather than a four-week reporting period, store chains said Thursday.
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 4.8 percent at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, while sales at Costco Wholesale Corp. jumped 9 percent and sales at Sears edged up 2.3 percent. But sales at Kmart slipped 1 percent and J.C. Penney's sales fell 2.1 percent.
The numbers, reported by big store chains, partially countered figures from the Commerce Department showing weak retail sales in the past two months, which provided some evidence to analysts that rising short-term interest rates may be starting to damp consumer spending.
"These numbers look pretty good," Tony Dwyer, market strategist at Kirlin Holdings, told CNNfn's Before Hours. "The problem with the group as a whole is that we have signs of a slowdown in the economy, and they are acting like consumers are never going to spend another dollar." These numbers suggest the opposite may hold true, he added.
Mixed results at discount retailers
The numbers, which are tallied and released individually by each store, held some interesting clues about what Americans are buying.
 Among discount retailers, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: Research, Estimates), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST: Research, Estimates) and Sears (S: Research, Estimates) all posted sales gains for the month, on strong demand for consumer products and electronics. RadioShack (RSH: Research, Estimates), in particular, saw same-store sales gain 13 percent last month on strong demand for electronic goods.
Shares of Wal-Mart notched up 1/8 to 57-1/8 in afternoon trading Thursday.
RadioShack shares rose 3-3/8 to 49-13/16.
The news also helped boost Sears shares up 1/8 to 33-15/16. Shares of Gap Inc., which reported a 2 percent decline in same-store sales, nonetheless jumped up 2-1/2 to 32-3/8.
But some other chain-store merchants such as Kmart (KM: Research, Estimates), J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) and Ames (AMES: Research, Estimates) saw sales decline for the month.
"June sales were disappointing," Kmart Chairman and CEO Chuck Conaway said. "Although overall sales were below plan, several categories exhibited notable gains over last year, including prescription drugs, consumables, home decor, sporting goods and stationery."
High-end merchandise a hit
Fashion retailers, such as Limited (LTD: Research, Estimates), Nordstrom Inc. (JWN: Research, Estimates), Neiman-Marcus and Talbot's, posted stronger sales in June, which included five weeks ended July 1, a longer-than-usual period.
The Limited said sales in June at its stores open at least a year gained 6 percent from a year earlier. The company operates 2,836 specialty retail stores under The Limited, Express, Lerner New York, Lane Bryant, Structure, and Henri Bendel names.
Nordstrom posted a 9.1-percent increase in sales. Nordstrom shares dipped 1-9/16 to 22-3/16 Thursday afternoon
Sales at Neiman-Marcus (NMG.A: Research, Estimates) jumped 17.3 percent last month, while sales at Talbots (TLB: Research, Estimates) increased 16.5 percent. Sales at Federated Department Stores (FD: Research, Estimates), owner of Macy and Bloomingdale's, rose a more modest 0.5 percent.
Shares of Neiman-Marcus rose 2-1/8, a nearly 8 percent jump, to 29-13/16.
At the same time, sales at Gap (GPS: Research, Estimates), which also owns and operates Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, slipped 2 percent. And sales at sport-casual retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: Research, Estimates) declined 4 percent last month.
Shares of Abercrombie rose 2-5/16 to 13-15/16 following the sales report Thursday. 
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Wal - Mart
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