ICSC sees glimmer of hope in June results

New York City U.S. chain store sales for June 2009 were off 5.1% on a year-over-year same-store basis according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

"Although June sales continued their very weak performance that has persisted since December 2008, there were some signs of improvement beneath the surface with a handful of teen and value retailers posting surprisingly healthy gains," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC. "These nascent signs of improvement are important since history suggests that consumer spending typically starts off sluggish prior to significant improvement.”