US DATA: 31-Dec wkly Redbook: “Retailers reported relatively strong
sales in the final week. Sales on the days immediately following
Christmas were well above expectations, with customers taking advantage
of deeper markdowns as well as exchanging and returning gifts and
redeeming gift cards. There were reports of significant upside
performance surprises at some department stores, which tend to be more
promotional than the discount stores this time of year.”
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Year-over-year: Week (w/e 12/31/11 vs year-ago) 4.9%
Year-over-year: Month (December 2011 vs December 2010) 3.7%
Month-over-month: (December 2011 vs November 2011) -2.1%