JANUARY SALES SLIP SLIGHTLY FOR HOME, ELECTRONICS STORES.

HFN: The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, February, 2005 by Ellis, Kristi; Weber, Nathan

Byline: Nathan Weber, Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON-Retail sales among stores specializing in home furnishings and consumer electronics and appliances declined in January, even after seasonal and holiday adjustments, but the drops were less than 1 percent for each type of retailer.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that home furnishings stores rang up more than $8.7 billion in sales in January, a dip of 0.1 percent from December. Similarly, consumer electronics retail sales, which reached $8.4 billion, were down 0.6 percent.

The yearly picture was more positive for ...