Apparel stores and discounters were among the stronger performers at retail last week as sales outpaced those from the year-ago period but fell on a sequential basis.
With a value of 542.7, the Weekly Chain-Store Sales Index of The Retail Economist LLC and Goldman Sachs for the week ended Jan. 24 rose 2.6 percent versus the week ended Jan. 25, 2014, but fell from 545.9 compared with the seven prior days.
Michael Niemira, principal and chief economist of The Retail Economist, identified dollar stores and wholesale clubs as the strongest retail sectors last week, with business “very strong,” while apparel retailers and discounters qualified as “strong.”
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Business weakened for pure-play online retailers and electronics, office, furniture and drug stores.
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