US DATA: wk 07-July Redbook: “The week includes Wednesday, the
Independence Day holiday, which left its imprint in sales of food and
outdoor equipment including lawn furniture and barbecue grills. Due to
hot weather throughout the country, seasonal goods moved well as stores
stepped up clearance orientated promotions ahead of fall restocking.
Meanwhile, the focus in July, as in the latter part of June, is on
clearing seasonal merchandise to make room for early fall presentations.
Sales performance is driven by discounting and can vary sharply from
week to week depending on individual store promotions, markdown levels
and the availability of selected goods, which may be a limiting factor
this year, given the early strong start to the season and tighter
inventory management.”
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Year-over-year: Week (w/e 07/07/12 vs year-ago) 2.2%
Year-over-year: Month (July 2012 vs July 2011) 2.2%
Month-over-month: (July 2012 vs June 2012) -0.8%