March Comp Sales Up 4.1%

NEW YORK CITY-Retailers’ year-over-year same store sales increased by 4.1% last month, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers’ report. The results were “mixed,” it says, due to favorable factors, such as a March Easter, as well as not-so-beneficial reasons, like unusually cold weather and “sluggish payroll employment gain.”

Discount chains, which posted a 5% jump, had their best performance since March 2004, when sales increased 6.3%. Target, as it has for the last three months, led the way with an 8.2% climb. Wal-Mart’s discount stores followed, rising 4.8%; ShopKo fared the worst, dropping by 0.6%.

Another sector that posted a strong performance was drug stores, registering an 8.3% rise. Walgreens had the best results, soaring 11.6%, while Rite Aid only inched up 1.6%, though it bettered February’s 0.6% year-on-year performance.