As the Wal-Mart Turns: Big Retailers Post Sluggish April Sales

The fate of Wal-Mart, Target and other big retailers often represents a benchmark for how smaller multichannel marketers will perform, sales-wise. But if their sales performance in April was any indication, then it’s not a good time right now for anyone. Below are highlights of several key big retailers’ April sales totals.

* Overall, the UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers’ sales totals of 53 retailers showed a 2.4 percent decrease, the largest decline since 1970

* Wal-Mart’s same-store sales fell 3.5 percent

* Target Corp.’s same-store sales decreased by 6.1 percent

* Federated Department Stores’ (Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s) same-store sales dropped 2.2 percent

* Gap Inc.’s same-store sales sunk by 16 percent

* Abercrombie & Fitch’s same-store sales plunged 15 percent

But not all April news was bad. Costco Wholesale Corp. enjoyed a 7 percent same-store sales gain.