WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the text of the weekly retail
sales report released by Johnson Redbook Tuesday, for the month-to-date
through the week-ended August 27:
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 4.0% in the fourth
and final week of August following a 3.6% gain the previous week.
Month-to-date, August was up 4.2% compared to August of last year
(relative to a target of a 4.6% gain). Month-over-month showed a 0.1%
gain compared to July (relative to a target of a 0.4% gain).
Sales performance for the final week of August was disrupted by
Hurricane Irene in the East Coast region. In anticipation of Hurricane
Irene, shoppers made a run on food, water, batteries and other emergency
supplies, ramping up business at stores which stock these staples. Not
all formats were affected equally, and our discount stores model held up
reasonably well on a broad mix of consumables. Some retailers noted that
sales for the week could be carried over to the following week.
Elsewhere, consumer interest was on seasonal and back-to-school
merchandise, with apparel the focus, especially children’s and junior.
Looking forward, our preliminary target for September is 4.6%
year-over-year, or a month-to-month increase of 0.1%. This target will
be finalized in next week’s report. Stores will report August sales on
Thursday, September 1st and Redbook will issue our usual Johnson Redbook
Same-store Sales Index that morning.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MAUDS$]
