Retail Sales Show Modest April Increase

The nation’s major retailers Thursday said sales picked up moderately in April, but not enough to imply consumers have forgotten about credit costs and inflation creeping up.

Store executives and industry analysts said better weather in parts of the country in late April helped stir shoppers’ interest in seasonal clothing and merchandise, partially compensating for a weak first half.

One big general merchandise retailer that reported a negative impact on business from early April’s unfavorable weather was K mart Corp., the second-largest chain store in the country.

But the Troy, Mich.-based retailer said sales of things such as spring and summer clothing, do-it-yourself gadgetry, patio furniture, barbecue grills and other outdoor gear improved as the weather warmed up.

Good News in General

Meanwhile, the largest U.S. retailer, Sears, Roebuck & Co., was pleased with its take. Sears, which is banking on a new low-pricing policy to boost customer traffic, also benefited from the rollout of Brand Central superstores. Helped by the marketing of more national brands alongside its flagship Kenmore label, Sears’ sales of home electronics and appliances rose by double-digit percentages in April.

Department stores and specialty apparel merchants generally had good news to report. Women’s clothing sales continued to rebound from last year’s low levels and analysts cited keen interest in career wardrobes as one cause.

Among the apparel-oriented merchants that posted healthy sales were: Dayton Hudson Corp., a Minneapolis-based department-store operator; May Department Stores Co., a St. Louis-based owner of department stores and discount home and shoe shops; J. C. Penney Co. Inc., the Dallas-based nationwide chain; and Limited Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio.

Jeffrey Edelman, a retail industry analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., said the April numbers looked good partly because they were being compared to last year’s depressed tallies. Still, he said April represented a significant improvement from March’s very sluggish volumes.

“This in an indication that the consumer is not dead, spending is just slowing down,” Edelman said.

Expenditures on things that are typically financed with bank loans have been curbed a bit by increases in interest rates this year.

Jeffrey Feiner, an analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co., said sales industry-wide this year have barely outpaced the inflation rate, indicating that consumer spending, a key element in economic growth, is easing.

MAJOR RETAILERS’ SALES IN APRIL

In millions of dollars 1989 % change Sears 2,500 +9.2 K mart 2,055 +2.3 Wal-Mart Stores 1,978 +25.0 J.C. Penney 1,057 +9.3 May Dept. Stores 858.2 + 29.4 Dayton Hudson 900.0 +18.2 Woolworth* 348.0 +11.1 Montgomery Ward 352.4 + 10.5 Carter Hawley Hale 190.3 + 3.1

* Excludes foreign sales.