New York, NY, January 17, 2007--Chain store sales for the week ended January 13 rose 4.9% from the year-ago period, according to a survey released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC.
This is the strongest gain since September 16, 2006.
On a week-over-week basis, sales were flat.
Sales were helped by a bout of cold weather that helped to drive sales for seasonal apparel clearance items, while ice storms kept some shoppers out of stores, said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist.
ICSC expects a January same-store sales gain of 3%.
