Sales---Carmen (fast)
>> belgium’s interbrew agreed to buy control of brazil’s ambev to create the world’s second biggest beer maker for $11.2 billion. the company will control 14% of the global beer market with brands like rolling rock and brahma and be ranked behind anheuser busch by sales. the chief executive plans to use ambev’s distribution network. sales at u.s. retailers probably rose as much as 7% last month boosted by higher federal tax refunds and warm weather. if so, it would be the biggest month low sales gain since april. carmen roberts has the same-store story.
>> i’m sure you’ll remember the blizzard that hit the east coast with 30 inches of snow, forcing retailers to close stores. this year, the weather has been better and people are spending bigger tax refunds and the treasury believes the refunds will give consumers $300 more to spend this year.
>> everything from the discount channel all the way up to the differentiated luxury brands, and the consumer strong and apparel industry is strong and good trends into 2004.
>> february accounts for 6% of retail sales and is the second smallest sales month after january but is also typically a clearance month. one analyst says stores are managing inventory better this year.
>> 30% lower inventory, meaning that consumers are buying full price and they like the trends and the product and bodes well for the first quarter.%
>> most retailers report same-store sales tomorrow. among those already reported, nieman marcus. it said that february same-store sales rose nearly 24.5% as customers bought more full-priced items and projects sales for the current quarter to rise 14% to 15%, pushing shares up in extended trading. net profit for the quarter that ended january 31 rose 84% to $59 million, that’s $1.21 a share, topping the average estimate of $1.03. revenue climbing 12%.
>> i think they’ve had a very good run the last year, year and a half and i think that high-end consumer continues to outspend the low-end consumer and i don’t see that changing significantly over the next 12 months.
>> some other february sales look like this. costco up 9%, saks 15%, pacific sunwear 14% and analysts expect wal-mart to say sales rose between 4% and 6%. michael meyer says that the surprisingly robust consumer demand may signal that the underlying economy is improving which is good news for everyone.
>> shop till you drop, absolutely. the world and national news, now, the rebel leader in haiti says his forces will disarm now that u.s. troops are taking up positions. mark crumpton has details.
