Discounters Top General Retailers in March

A post-Gulf War rise in consumer confidence and an early Easter boosted sales at discount and specialty stores in March but did little to improve the outlook at the nation’s leading general retailers, sales figures released Thursday showed.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which led all retailers with $3.32 billion in revenue last month, reported a 12% sales gain at stores open at least a year.

Kmart Corp., No. 2 with $3.01 billion in sales, posted a 6.3% same-store gain. Kmart said its seasonal Easter products had sold well. It reported good response to spring and summer merchandise.

Consumers’ concern about the recession and the Gulf War has depressed sales for several months, but confidence surged in March after the U.S.-led military victory over Iraq, according to a survey by the Conference Board, a business research organization.

However, retail analysts said that optimism did not materialize into significantly higher store sales.

Sears, Roebuck & Co., for example, reported a 3.6% sales decline at stores open at least a year. Including new stores, its sales totaled $2.98 billion. It said clothing sales rose strongly, but the sluggish economy continued to depress home appliance sales.

Same-store sales fell 9.6% at J. C. Penney Co.

Retailing stock prices generally rose strongly in response to the sales figures.

Among the best performers, Gap was up $3.875 to $56.375 a share, Limited jumped $1.25 to $28.125, and Wal-Mart rose $1.125 to $42.375.