Department Stores Led U.S. Retail Sales Gains

Same-store retail sales for September were up 2.8 percent compared to a gain of 0.9 percent for September 2009, according to Kantar Retail. Last month's sales were slightly below August's increase of 3.4 percent. Among the 31 retailers reporting monthly sales, department stores posted better than average results over last year with apparel and accessory stores following close to the average gain. Meanwhile, food, drug and mass retailers lagged slightly. Zumiez reported the largest gain among all the retailers posting a 17 percent increase, followed by Abercrombie & Fitch at a 13 percent increase and Limited Brands at a