· Chain store sales following Thanksgiving week slumped another 1.7% on top of the 1.5% skid during the Holiday period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS.

· The decline pulled November sales just 0.1% ahead of October and sales began December down 2.5% m/m.

· The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC fell by 0.5% in the latest week for the third time in the last four periods.

· During the last ten years there has been a 60% correlation between y/y change in chain store sales and the change in non-auto retail sales less gasoline. 

· The ICSC-UBS retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.  

12/04/04

11/27/04

Y/Y

2002