BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com
Retailers, especially those selling furniture, electronics, appliances and other products for the home, are feeling the effects of the struggling economy.
National retail chains, including Bombay Co., Sharper Image, Wickes Furniture Co., and Lillian Vernon, are closing their doors, while others, such as Zales and Ann Taylor, are closing stores. Cabela's will chop its 2008 expansion plans to two stores from eight, and recently cut 40 full-time positions each in Hammond and Hoffman Estates, Ill. Macy's has slashed hundreds of jobs nationwide.
The National Retail Federation reported Thursday February retail sales (including such nongeneral merchandise as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) fell 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from January.
Economists say March numbers could be worse, because oil prices spiked over the $110 barrel point and blew gasoline prices above the $3.20 cents a gallon mark after the calendar page turned.
"Retail is slow in Indiana as it is in the rest of the country," said Grant Monahan, spokesman for the Indiana Retail Council. "Retailers face significant challenges. Sales are very slow across-the-board and where the credit crunch has had an impact in housing, it's caused a strain on larger-ticket items."
Even discounters, which tend to do better when times are tough, are struggling, Monahan said. The retail industry is always in the state of flux because the competition is so fierce, but bad economic times make is so much worse.
"Only the strong survive even in a good economy," Monahan said. "When you throw on top the challenges of the marketplace and the economy its even worse. I hate to see retailers go out of business, but I'm never surprised."