Sales Drop Here Less Than U.S.
t Department store sales in y tlie Washington area dropped 8 percent last week from the d -volume in the like 1954 period,</br></br>t Department store sales in y tlie Washington area dropped 8 percent last week from the d -volume in the like 1954 period, . Excluding branch stores in :ÐÊ the suburban area, the sales drop* in the downtown section was 15 percent for the week.</br></br>Retailers cited two explana-tions for the drop: an earlier Easter and unfavorable weather. Because of a week earlier Easter, sales were on a i comparative basis with sales lot.the week before Easter last "year (traditionally a strong selling period).</br></br>The local decline for the week was not quite as steep as the 16 percent slump in the Fifth Reserve District and the 13 percent drop nationally.</br></br>Service Corp., small-loan firm with headquarters in Washington, reported net income of $586,833 or $3.41 a common share for the nine months ended March 31. This compared with $537,331 or $3.13 a share in the same period last year. Notes receivable as of March 31, 1955, totaled $13,478,918, after a reserve of $435,353 for doubtful accounts.