US DATA: Redbook sales for Oct 1 wk: “somewhat slower for most
stores in our model in the final week of September. Among merchandise
categories, consumables and other basic groups generally led business
suggesting that sales were driven by everyday domestic demand in the
absence of a clear seasonal trend. A number of stores indicated that
business picked up toward the end of the week as temperatures in parts
of the country turned cooler driving demand for fall apparel. Looking
ahead, October is a four-week month ending on Oct 29th. Columbus Day
in the second week matches the timing of last yr.”

Year-over-year: Week (w/e 10/01/11 vs year-ago) 4.1%
Year-over-year: Month (September 2011 vs September 2010) 4.4%
Month-over-month: (September 2011 vs August 2011) -0.1%