September Song

Confirming that which needed little confirming – that worried shoppers are bargain-hunting – discount retailer JC Penney (Plano, Texas) reported a strong 8.1 percent increase in comp-store sales for the five weeks ended Sept. 29, 2001. And full-price retailer Nordstrom (Seattle) showed a 9.4 percent decrease for September, and an overall sales fall-off of 6.0 percent.

“The company's sales were initially impacted by the tragic events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001,” said Penney chairman and ceo Allen Questrom. “Despite those events, our department store sales recovered and were significantly above plan for the month.”

Penney's Eckerd Drug division also showed an 8.1 percent comp-store sales gain. Pharmacy sales were up 10.5 percent and front-end sales up 3.3 percent. “[Eckerd] sales are beginning to benefit from the store reconfiguration program,” the company statement said. “Front-end sales were strongest for cosmetics, baby care, vitamins, snacks and beverages and household products.”

Nordstrom stated that “the decline in September 2001 sales reflected a challenging retail environment made worse following the events of September 11.” However, the company said the first three days of its highly publicized fall sales event (September 28 – October 8) was successful, partly offsetting the troubling atmosphere of the first part of the month.