Mall Sales up 3% for 1996 Holiday Season

Business Wire, Dec 26, 1996

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 26, 1996--Strength in the jewelry, footwear and cards/gifts/books categories helped push sales in the nation's regional malls up by 3% on a non-adjusted basis for the holiday shopping season (Nov. 29-Dec. 24), compared with the Thanksgiving to Christmas period in 1995, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported today.

The council's database of 60 malls measures sales at more than 3,000 specialty stores on a "comparable mall" basis. It does not include department stores and other mall "anchors."

John Konarski, ICSC vice president of research, said the 3% gain was impressive when one considers that malls were open for five fewer days than they were in 1995, when the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was 31 days.

"Early indications suggest that this was a good, solid Christmas season for mall operators, especially when you consider the shorter season," Konarski said. "But we won't know the full story until later in January, when we can look at November and December as a combined period."

Results for the 1996 holiday shopping season by merchandise category:

1996 season

Jewelry up 14%

Footwear up 6%

Cards/Gifts/Books up 5.9%

Food up 3.9%

Apparel down 4.6%

Music/Entertainment/Software down 1.5%

Home furnishings down 13.2%

Miscellaneous up 3.6%

Total up 3%

Founded in 1957, ICSC is the not-for-profit trade association of the shopping center industry with 32,000 members in 60 countries.

CONTACT: International Council of Shopping Centers, New York

Mark J. Schoifet, ext. 344

Karen Killeen, ext. 315

212/421-8181