Usa: positive time for luxury goods

The positive time for luxury goods in the US continued into January 2004. The Goldman Sachs index, which monitors variations in same-store sales, recorded a 5.9% increase in January, the highest since September 2003.

Giving the best results were department stores Neiman Marcus (+12.8), Saks Fifth Avenue (+10.9) and Nordstrom (+8.7). But good results also from Abercrombie & Fitch and Limited Brands.

All retailers declared that they had sold more goods at the full price than in the previous season and so cut-price sales were fewer; this was also thanks to improved warehouse management. Contributing to the positive result was the bad weather in the northeast, which attracted a high number of customers into stores, and a tax-free weekend in New York state.

(Source: Ice)