Retail Sales Gain Most Since March on Black Friday Boost ANF, JCP, GAP

Retail sales rose the most in eight months in November, led by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) and J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE:JCP), and beat analysts’ estimates as consumers gobbled up discounts, particularly during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Teen retailer Abercrombie increased so-called same-store sales 22%, above the 6.4% average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Retail Metrics Inc. J.C. Penney, the 3rd largest US department store chain, boosted sales 9.2%, above a projection of 3.3%. Apparel retailer Gap Inc. (NYSE:GAP), posted a gain of 5%, beating estimates.

Retailers began discounting earlier in November than the past few years and continued through “Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year. Some consumers are looking to spend as their fortunes improve alongside the employment outlook.—Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. www.livetradingnews.com

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on Dec 2nd, 2010and filed underEquities, Latest News, Markets, USA.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site