Retail Sales in Feb. Unexpectedly Strong

Most major retailers on Thursday reported robust February sales that defied a volatile stock market, rising interest rates and a jump in oil prices--any one of which might have slowed Americans’ shopping euphoria.

Although there was some concern that spending would slow in 2000 from last year’s strong pace, in fact sales at many chains were better than expected in February.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi retail sales index, which tracks sales at about 80 U.S. retail chains, rose 5.6% in February for stores open at least a year, above an expected 4% to 4.5% gain.

“People still have jobs, they have money and security, and that is fueling their buying,” said Kurt Barnard, a consultant who runs Barnard’s Retail Trend Report in Upper Montclair, N.J. “There were a lot of factors that could have hurt sales, but they didn’t have any impact.”

Shares in San Francisco-based Gap Inc., however, fell 8% Thursday to $44.25 on the New York Stock Exhange, as the firm posted modest same-store sales results and announced the departure of top executive Jeanne Jackson, Gap’s head of both the online and Banana Republic divisions. Jackson has been named chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Wal-Mart.com Internet Venture.

She is being replaced by three executives in Gap’s new office of the president.

February is traditionally a slow month for retail sales because it lies between January’s clearance deals and the arrival of spring in March.

Many store owners reported that the cold, winter weather didn’t deter shoppers from buying spring merchandise last month--from T-shirts to patio furniture--and most paid full price for their purchases.

Wal-Mart said its sales from stores open at least a year rose 6.1% in February compared with a year ago, while total sales rose 23% from year-ago levels.

Sales from stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, are considered the most accurate measure of a retailer’s business. Among the reports:

* Sears’ same-store sales rose 3.1%, with total sales up 2.4%.

* Kmart’s same-store sales rose 2.7%, with total sales up 4%.

* J.C. Penney’s same-store department store sales fell 2.4%; same-store sales at Eckerd drugstores rose 4.7%; and total sales climbed 5.7%.

* Target’s (formerly Dayton Hudson) same-store sales rose 3.8%, with total sales up 8.7%. Sales rose 5.4% at its Target discount stores and 1% at its Mervyn’s chain, but fell 5.1% at its other department stores.

* Federated’s same-store sales rose 5.3%, with total sales up 18.3%. Federated’s total sales include revenue from the Internet and catalog seller Fingerhut, which it acquired last March.

* May Department Stores’ same-store sales rose 3.6%, with total sales up 7.6%.

* Limited’s same-store sales rose 6%, with total sales flat.