NEW YORK (June 12) -- Retailers
specializing in a wide variety of home furnishings registered a slight increase in sales
in May, even as total retail sales were virtually flat. Furniture and other home
furnishings stores rang up nearly $8.2 billion, a 1.1 percent increase from April, and a
3.5 percent growth from May 2002.
Department stores, including mass merchants but excluding leased spaces, also showed a
small increase during the month, but sales were down more than 4 percent over the year. |
