March retail sales up, but consumer electronics' impact mixed
FROM TWICE: Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's Club all increase
By Steve Smith of TWICE -- Video Business, 4/11/2008
APRIL 11 | FROM TWICE: While national mass merchants and warehouse clubs all reported higher March sales, the impact of electronics and the early Easter date were mixed.At Wal-Mart Stores in the five weeks ending April 4, net sales were up 5% to $23.1 billion with comp-store sales up 0.9%, down from the previous year’s gain of 3.4%. In the U.S. segment, Wal-Mart said entertainment and solid Easter sales drove its business.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president/CEO, said, “Our initiatives in electronics have improved customer access to leading brands and made Wal-Mart the retailer of choice for entertainment products. The U.S. stores continued to generate triple-digit comparable sales in flat-panel TVs and GPS units, as well as double-digit growth rates in laptop computers, videogames and digital cameras.”
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