US chain store sales down - latest survey

US chain store sales fell in the latest week as consumers stayed away from shopping malls, a report said today.

US chain store sales fell in the latest week as consumers stayed away from shopping malls, a report said today.

US chain store sales slipped 1.9 per cent in the week ended October 26th after a 0.6 per cent gain in the preceding week, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg reported. "Sales were generally on-to-below plan," the report said.

The BTM/UBSW Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from seven major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results.

Those stores include J.C. Penney, Sears, Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Federated Department Stores Inc. and May Department Stores Co. The BTM/UBSW index measures sales growth with the year 1977 equaling 100.