September Retail Store Sales Slow; Soft Holiday Forecast
The nationÛªs major chain-store retailers yesterday reported poor September sales, confirming ideas that consumers are feeling the double pinch of higher nil costs and a rising unemployment rate, analysts said.</br></br>Analysts said worries about recession and a possible war in the Persian Gulf kept consumers on the sidelines. And they said the retailersÛª reportsÛÓsome of which showed a decline from September 1989 levelsÛÓdid not augur well for a robust Christmas shopping season.</br></br>"It coukl get worse ..." warned Jeffrey Feiner of Merrill Lynch & Co. ÛÏWe believe that for the first time in a long time, we will have two</br></br>SeptemberÛªs results came as no surprise. August sales, which normally are boosted by back-to-school shopping, showed signs of a spending slowdown. The September weather also affected sales, as temperatures ran above the norm, and few consumers were in the mood to shop for winter clothing.</br></br>The nationÛªs largest retailer, Sears, Roebuck & Co., said sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.4 percent for the five weeks ended Oct. 6, while sales from all of its stores rose 4.2 percent. K mart Corp. said its same-store sales See RETAIL, F4,CoL 6