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RAPAPORT...
U.S. chain-store sales were basically flat in April, up only 0.6 percent year on year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Retail sales performance was stifled in part due to an earlier Easter holiday coupled with a warm spell in March, which sparked earlier than usual shopping patterns, ICSC determined. “Overall, the tone for April was slightly softer than recent months, but on a two-month basis sales remain healthy,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. ICSC anticipates that on comparable-store basis, chain-store sales for this month will increase by 3 percent.
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