NEW YORK--Home furnishings retailers logged their highest total average same-store sales gain in nine months, due largely to a cold snap in the weather that drove seasonal apparel and a calendar shift resulting in an additional week after Thanksgiving falling in the month of November.
The 19 home furnishings retailers surveyed by HFN recorded a total average November same-store sales gain of 3.5 percent, compared with 1.9 percent for November 2006 and 0.7 percent for the prior month. The increase was the highest since the 5.6 percent gain in March. Sixteen retailers surveyed recorded gains and three were in the red--Haverty Furniture Cos., Stein Mart and Family Dollar.
The department stores group, which has lagged overall home retail in recent months, especially benefitted from November's cold weather and outperformed the overall sector with a total average 6 percent same-store sales gain. Leading department stores and overall home retail was Macy's with a 13.4 percent same-store sales gain, which reversed two consecutive monthly declines.
Haverty was one retailer that did not see the cold weather benefits, scraping the bottom of the group with a 10.4 percent same-store sales decline.
