PR Newswire Issues September 2004 'Retail Review & Comparison'
PRNewswire
NEW YORK

A compilation of sales figures from leading U.S. retailers, PR Newswire's "Retail Review & Comparison" provides a company-by-company analysis of monthly and year-to-date retail results. The current report, prepared by PR Newswire, compiles data from the month of September 2004 based upon the nationwide release of monthly same-store-sales distributed over PR Newswire and other sources.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO )

Statistics listed in the report include total sales figures from the current month and full year, percentage of sales with respect to overall yearly revenues, and comparisons between the current month and year with returns from the same period in 2003. All sales figures are reported in the millions-of-dollars, unless otherwise noted.

              PR Newswire's Monthly Retail Sales Comparison

  Month: SEPTEMBER

  TICKER   SPECIALTY APPAREL      TOTAL SALES  TOTAL SALES   TOTAL SALES
                & GOODS          $ MONTH 2004  $ MONTH 2003  % MONTH 2004

  AEOS   American Eagle Outfitters   $161.5 M     $122.1 M        32.3
  ANN    Ann Taylor Stores         $187.667 M   $160.484 M        16.9
  BBY    Best Buy Co. Inc.
  BBA    Bombay Company
  BWS    Brown Shoe (Fam. Footwear)    $104 M      $95.5 M         8.9
  CMRG   Casual Male Retail Group     $27.7 M      $27.2 M         1.8
  CTR    Cato                         $59.0 M      $55.5 M           6
  CHRS   Charming Shoppes            $205.6 M     $206.3 M
  CHS    Chico's FAS                 $106.4 M      $86.0 M        23.7
  CLE    Claire's Stores           $105.884 M    $93.911 M          13
  DEBS   Deb Shops                    $22.4 M      $22.3 M         0.5
  DBRN   Dress Barn                   $80.4 M      $74.6 M           8
  GDYS   Goody's                      $94.3 M      $98.9 M        -4.7
  GYMB   Gymboree                     $62.9 M      $56.6 M          11
  JAS    Jo-Ann Stores               $167.3 M     $165.2 M
  JOSB   Joseph A. Bank Clothiers     $32.1 M      $27.7 M        15.9
  MW     Men's Wearhouse             $140.0 M     $130.3 M         7.5
  MWRK   Mothers Work                 $39.8 M      $41.3 M        -3.5
  NMGA   Neiman Marcus
  GOSHA  Osh Kosh B'Gosh
  PSUN   Pacific Sunwear              $98.9 M      $81.9 M        20.8
  ECMV   Perfumania                 $14.844 M     $14.61 M         1.6
  RVI    Retail Ventures, Inc.       $258.5 M     $261.4 M        -1.1
  ROST   Ross Stores                   $374 M       $363 M           3
  SKFB   S&K Famous Brands            $16.7 M      $16.0 M         4.4
  SKS    Saks Inc.                   $569.3 M     $591.7 M        -3.8
  SCVL   Shoe Carnival                $46.3 M      $44.4 M         4.2
  TLB    Talbots                     $187.5 M     $182.5 M           3
  BKE    The Buckle                   $43.4 M      $41.5 M         4.6
  PLCE   The Children's Place        $105.8 M      $88.4 M          20
  GPS    The Gap                      $1.45 B      $1.47 B          -1
  LTD    The Limited
  TJX    TJX Cos.                      $1.4 B       $1.3 B           9
  URGI   United Retail                $36.0 M      $33.4 M           5
  WMAR   West Marine                  $54.5 M      $56.6 M        -3.7
  WLSN   Wilsons The Leather Expert   $30.2 M      $34.3 M       -12.1


  TICKER   SPECIALTY APPAREL        TOTAL SALES   TOTAL SALES  TOTAL SALES
                & GOODS             $ YTD 2004    $ YTD 2003    % YTD 2004

  AEOS   American Eagle Outfitters   $1.134 B     $906.6 M        25.0
  ANN    Ann Taylor Stores        $1208.858 M  $1007.304 M          20
  BBY    Best Buy Co. Inc.
  BBA    Bombay Company
  BWS    Brown Shoe (Fam. Footwear)  $779.4 M     $761.4 M         2.4
  CMRG   Casual Male Retail Group
  CTR    Cato                        $513.0 M     $489.9 M           5
  CHRS   Charming Shoppes           $1574.3 M    $1534.2 M           3
  CHS    Chico's FAS                   $695 M       $485 M        43.3
  CLE    Claire's Stores           $791.657 M   $686.236 M          15
  DEBS   Deb Shops
  DBRN   Dress Barn
  GDYS   Goody's                     $785.9 M     $763.1 M         3.0
  GYMB   Gymboree                    $378.8 M     $345.9 M          10
  JAS    Jo-Ann Stores               $1.064 B     $1.022 B         4.1
  JOSB   Joseph A. Bank Clothiers    $215.8 M     $171.7 M        25.7
  MW     Men's Wearhouse             $966.8 M     $862.7 M        12.1
  MWRK   Mothers Work                $518.1 M     $492.4 M         5.2
  NMGA   Neiman Marcus
  GOSHA  Osh Kosh B'Gosh
  PSUN   Pacific Sunwear             $774.1 M     $651.4 M        18.8
  ECMV   Perfumania                $111.422 M   $110.648 M          .7
  RVI    Retail Ventures, Inc.        $1.75 B      $1.66 B         5.2
  ROST   Ross Stores                 $2.687 B     $2.523 B           7
  SKFB   S&K Famous Brands           $119.2 M     $112.3 M         6.2
  SKS    Saks Inc.                   $982.8 M       $993 M          -1
  SCVL   Shoe Carnival               $406.1 M     $385.8 M         5.3
  TLB    Talbots                   $1,102.7 M   $1,054.9 M           5
  BKE    The Buckle                  $289.4 M     $257.0 M        12.6
  PLCE   The Children's Place        $607.3 M     $495.2 M          23
  GPS    The Gap                      $10.1 B       $9.7 B           3
  LTD    The Limited
  TJX    TJX Cos.                      $9.3 B       $8.2 B          14
  URGI   United Retail               $258.9 M     $265.5 M
  WMAR   West Marine                 $564.9 M     $536.0 M         5.4
  WLSN   Wilsons The Leather Expert  $204.4 M     $211.7 M        -3.5


  TICKER   SPECIALTY APPAREL      COMP        COMP       COMP      COMP
                & GOODS         SALES %     SALES %     SALES %   SALES %
                               MONTH 2004  MONTH 2003  YTD 2004  YTD 2003

  AEOS   American Eagle          23.3                   16.0
          Outfitters
  ANN    Ann Taylor Stores        1.4        6.9         6.6
  BBY    Best Buy Co. Inc.
  BBA    Bombay Company
  BWS    Brown Shoe               4.7                   -0.4
          (Fam. Footwear)
  CMRG   Casual Male Retail Group 2.3
  CTR    Cato                       1                     -1
  CHRS   Charming Shoppes          -2                      2
  CHS    Chico's FAS              5.2                   13.5
  CLE    Claire's Stores           10          7          10         7
  DEBS   Deb Shops                0.9
  DBRN   Dress Barn                 6
  GDYS   Goody's                 -9.1                   -0.1
  GYMB   Gymboree                   4          8           4
  JAS    Jo-Ann Stores            3.3                    3.4
  JOSB   Joseph A. Bank Clothiers 3.9       13.0        10.0
  MW     Men's Wearhouse          1.9                    8.2
  MWRK   Mothers Work            -8.9       -4.7        -4.9      -0.3
  NMGA   Neiman Marcus
  GOSHA  Osh Kosh B'Gosh
  PSUN   Pacific Sunwear          9.8       18.5         8.3
  ECMV   Perfumania               3.5       -5.7
  RVI    Retail Ventures, Inc.   -7.3                   -0.8
  ROST   Ross Stores               -5                     -2
  SKFB   S&K Famous Brands        1.1                    3.3
  SKS    Saks Inc.               -4.0                   -1.7
  SCVL   Shoe Carnival            1.9        1.8
  TLB    Talbots                  1.3                    0.1
  BKE    The Buckle               0.3                    7.4
  PLCE   The Children's Place      12         30          14      flat
  GPS    The Gap                   -3         13           2        10
  LTD    The Limited
  TJX    TJX Cos.                   1          8           5
  URGI   United Retail              6                     -1
  WMAR   West Marine             -6.5                    1.1
  WLSN   Wilsons The Leather      3.7        4.3         3.9      -1.8
          Expert


  TICKER   GENERAL MERCHANDISE      TOTAL SALES   TOTAL SALES  TOTAL SALES
                                   $ MONTH 2004  $ MONTH 2003 % MONTH 2004

  BJ     BJ's                        $676.8 M     $603.5 M         12.1
  BLI    Big Lots                    $357.6 M     $347.6 M          2.9
  BONT   Bon Ton                     $114.8 M      $62.8 M         82.9
  BKST   Brookstone Inc.
  CBK    Christopher Banks Corp.      $31.7 M      $30.2 M            5
  COST   Costco                       $4.53 B      $4.07 B           11
  DDS    Dillard's Dept. Stores    $688.838 M   $707.723 M           -3
  DG     Dollar General              $717.5 M     $638.8 M         12.3
  DLTR   Dollar Tree
  FDO    Family Dollar               $510.6 M     $463.6 M         10.1
  FD     Federated Department Stores $1.349 B     $1.352 B         -0.2
  FRED   Fred's                      $135.2 M     $119.8 M           13
  FINL   Finish Line
  GOT    Gottschalks                  $56.8 M      $53.8 M          5.5
  JCP    JCPenney                    $1,508 M     $1,474 M          2.3
  KSS    Kohl's                      $904.1 M     $797.4 M         13.4
  MAY    May Dept. Stores             $1.34 B      $1.14 B         18.0
  MAY    Marshall Field's (May)
  MAY    Mervyn's (May)
  S      Sears                      $2.3328 B    $2.4535 B         -4.9
  SHRP   Sharper Image                $46.4 M      $38.4 M           21
  SKO    Shopko Stores               $262.9 M     $266.8 M         -1.5
  STGS   Stage Stores Inc.            $97.8 M      $69.2 M         41.3
  SBUX   Starbucks                     $624 M       $423 M           23
  SMRT   Stein Mart                  $128.7 M     $124.4 M          3.4
  TGT    Target Corporation          $3.866 B     $3.437 B           12
  TGT    Target Stores
  WMT    Wal-Mart                   $25.739 B    $23.239 B         10.8


  TICKER  GENERAL MERCHANDISE      TOTAL SALES  TOTAL SALES   TOTAL SALES
                                    $ YTD 2004   $ YTD 2003    % YTD 2004

  BJ     BJ's                    $4,661.782 M $4,169.240 M         11.8
  BLI    Big Lots                  $2,639.0 M   $2,501.6 M          5.5
  BONT   Bon Ton                     $750.2 M     $405.0 M         85.2
  BKST   Brookstone Inc.
  CBK    Christopher Banks Corp.     $230.7 M     $213.3 M            8
  COST   Costco                      $47.15 B     $41.69 B           13
  DDS    Dillard's Dept. Stores  $4,767.950 M $4,818.552 M           -1
  DG     Dollar General                $4.9 B       $4.4 B         11.4
  DLTR   Dollar Tree
  FDO    Family Dollar
  FD     Federated Department Stores $9.460 B     $9.154 B          3.3
  FRED   Fred's                      $923.3 M     $827.6 M           12
  FINL   Finish Line
  GOT    Gottschalks                 $396.4 M     $393.6 M          0.7
  JCP    JCPenney                   $10,938 M    $10,307 M          6.1
  KSS    Kohl's                    $6,663.7 M   $5,897.0 M         13.0
  MAY    May Dept. Stores             $8.31 B      $7.96 B          4.0
  MAY    Marshall Field's (May)
  MAY    Mervyn's (May)
  S      Sears                     $16.7636 B   $17.4194 B         -3.8
  SHRP   Sharper Image               $387.8 M     $310.6 M           25
  SKO    Shopko Stores               $2.028 B                       1.6
  STGS   Stage Stores Inc.           $773.1 M     $546.4 M
  SBUX   Starbucks                     $5.3 B       $4.1 B           27
  SMRT   Stein Mart                  $905.5 M     $851.5 M          6.3
  TGT    Target Corporation         $27.494 B                      11.8
  TGT    Target Stores
  WMT    Wal-Mart                  $182.003 B   $163.246 B         11.5


  TICKER   GENERAL MERCHANDISE   COMP        COMP        COMP      COMP
                               SALES %     SALES %     SALES %   SALES %
                              MONTH 2004  MONTH 2003   YTD 2004  YTD 2003

  BJ     BJ's                     8.3       12.4         7.3
  BLI    Big Lots                -2.1                    0.6
  BONT   Bon Ton                 -0.1                   -1.5
  BKST   Brookstone Inc.
  CBK    Christopher Banks Corp.   -7                     -5
  COST   Costco                     8                     10
  DDS    Dillard's Dept. Stores    -3                     -2
  DG     Dollar General           4.2                    3.3
  DLTR   Dollar Tree
  FDO    Family Dollar            1.5
  FD     Federated Department
          Stores                  0.1                    3.4
  FRED   Fred's                   4.3        6.9         3.4       6.2
  FINL   Finish Line
  GOT    Gottschalks              6.0                    2.1
  JCP    JCPenney                   2                    6.8
  KSS    Kohl's                  -1.3                   -0.7
  MAY    May Dept. Stores        -1.5                   -1.2
  MAY    Marshall Field's (May)
  MAY    Mervyn's (May)
  S      Sears                   -3.2                    2.5
  SHRP   Sharper Image              2          8           3        13
  SKO    Shopko Stores           -1.2                    1.9
  STGS   Stage Stores Inc.        2.5       -3.5         1.8      -4.6
  SBUX   Starbucks
  SMRT   Stein Mart               5.2                    9.3
  TGT    Target Corporation       5.6                    5.1
  TGT    Target Stores
  WMT    Wal-Mart                 2.4        6.0         3.8       3.8


  TICKER   HOME SUPPLY      TOTAL SALES      TOTAL SALES      TOTAL SALES
                           $ MONTH 2004     $ MONTH 2003    % MONTH 2004

  HVT    Haverty                $61.4 M          $65.2 M          -5.8
  PIR    Pier 1              $175.602 M       $168.658 M           4.1


  TICKER   HOME SUPPLY       TOTAL SALES     TOTAL SALES      TOTAL SALES
                             $ YTD 2004      $ YTD 2003       % YTD 2004

  HVT    Haverty               $567.4 M         $539.4 M           5.2
  PIR    Pier 1


  TICKER   HOME SUPPLY          COMP        COMP          COMP      COMP
                              SALES %     SALES %       SALES %   SALES %
                            MONTH 2004  MONTH 2003     YTD 2004 YTD 2003

  HVT    Haverty                -8.4                       17
  PIR    Pier 1                 -3.9


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For more information on PR Newswire's Retail Review & Comparison, please contact Rachel Asche, director, public relations, PR Newswire at 212.282.1929 or rachel.asche@prnewswire.com.

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CONTACT: Rachel Asche, director, public relations, PR Newswire,
+1-212-282-1929 or rachel.asche@prnewswire.com