Credit Insights

NOVEMBER 2003 SAME STORE SALES REPORT
Industry Sector: Retail

Welcome to the new Global Credit Services “Interactive Graph Interface”. This new graph enables the user to plot a company’s performance against the best and worst performers in retail over the last two years. The Best of Breed may be a different company each month from those retailers who report monthly comparable store sales. This Interactive Graphing product allows the user to click on any company in the report and that company’s results gets charted against the best and worst performers over this time period.

Ind	Cred	Company	YTD	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Ind	Cred	Company	YTD	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change

Companies Ranked by Industry

Credit Rating	Apparel Stores	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Apparel Stores	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
A	CHICOS FAS INC	16.30	11.30	69.20	44.90	54
C	CHILDRENS PLACE RETAIL STORES	14.00	-18.00	81.00	64.30	26
B	PACIFIC SUNWEAR OF CALIFORNIA INC	11.70	11.70	84.30	68.90	22
A	AEROPOSTALE INC	10.30	-1.30	86.30	65.30	32
C	ANNTAYLOR STORES CORP/HC	9.60	-10.30	139.64	116.24	20
A	BEBE STORES INC	9.10	-15.10	33.10	29.40	13
C	VICTORIAS SECRET STORES INC/LIMITED BRANDS	8.00	.01	0	0	0
A	HOT TOPIC INC	7.30	4.70	45.30	34.80	30
F	FILENES BASEMENT CORP/SEE SCHOTTENSTEIN	6.70	-5.30	30.45	27.28	12
A	CLAIRES STORES INC	6.00	5.00	91.37	81.30	12
D	GAP INC,THE	6.00	9.00	1400.00	1300.00	8
A	MENS WEARHOUSE INC,THE	5.90	-6.30	116.40	107.00	9
B	BUCKLE INC,THE	5.40	-3.40	38.50	35.00	10
B	CACHE INC	5.00	4.00	17.30	15.80	9
E	CATHERINES INC/CHARMING SHOPPES	5.00	-4.00	0	0	0
A	GYMBOREE CORP	5.00	2.00	56.20	50.00	12
C	ROSS STORES INC	5.00	1.00	364.00	316.00	15
D	GORDMANS INC	4.60		0		0
F	FACTORY 2 U STORES INC/ FKA FAMILY BARGAIN CORP	2.90	-9.60	46.90	47.70	-2
D	JOS A BANK CLOTHIERS INC /DE/	2.50	3.30	29.60	24.80	19
D	GOODYS FAMILY CLOTHING INC	1.30	3.70	121.70	115.40	5
C	LIMITED BRANDS INC	1.00	-2.00	785.60	815.40	-4
C	TJX COMPANIES INC	1.00	-1.00	1269.00	1150.00	10
B	TALBOTS INC	.80	-3.00	126.00	118.70	6
B	ELDER BEERMAN STORES INC. NOW PART OF BON TON STORES INC	-1.80	-6.70	67.60	69.30	-2
A	CHRISTOPHER & BANKS CORP/FKA BRAUNS FASHIONS	-2.00	-5.00	38.00	33.40	14
C	FAMOUS FOOTWEAR	-2.90	-3.20	74.60	75.10	-1
B	MOTHERS WORK INC / MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY	-3.70	7.90	43.20	40.60	6
B	DRESS BARN INC	-4.00	-4.00	58.80	59.10	-1
E	UNITED RETAIL GROUP INC/DE	-4.00	-5.00	30.90	33.20	-7
E	LANE BRYANT INC	-4.00	-12.00	0	0	0
E	STEIN MART INC	-4.70	-2.20	137.00	143.60	-5
A	S&K FAMOUS BRANDS INC	-6.00	1.00	13.80	14.50	-5
B	AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC	-6.20	-4.90	148.90	143.90	3
C	WET SEAL INC	-6.70	-1.30	45.70	48.40	-6
D	CHARMING SHOPPES INC	-8.00	-3.00	169.60	184.40	-8
11	EDDIE BAUER INC/CASE#03-11547	-8.00	-20.00	0	0	0
11	SPIEGEL INC/CASE #03-11540	-8.00	-20.00	195.40	195.30	0
C	LIMITED STORES INC ,THE/LIMITED BRANDS	-9.00	2.00	0	0	0
B	CATO CORP	-9.00	1.00	53.10	54.70	-3
B	DEB SHOPS INC	-9.70	-0.30	23.40	25.00	-6
C	EXPRESS INC/LIMITED BRANDS	-10.00	-2.00	0	0	0
A	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO	-13.00	-13.00	161.20	158.70	2
E	FASHION BUG	-14.00	5.00	0	0	0
E	WILSONS THE LEATHER EXPERTS INC	-16.50	-8.70	62.10	81.90	-24
D	GADZOOKS INC	-28.10	-1.20	16.40	23.80	-31

Credit Rating	Consumer Electronics	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Consumer Electronics	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
D	SHARPER IMAGE CORP	8.00	15.00	69.20	56.80	22

Credit Rating	Dept Store-Catalog Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Dept Store-Catalog Retail	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
C	NORDSTROM INC	7.40	-1.00	631.90	573.80	10
D	SAKS INC/FKA PROFFITTS INC	6.70	-7.00	617.50	574.20	8
A	NEIMAN MARCUS GROUP INC	5.80	5.80	295.00	278.00	6
E	RETAIL VENTURES INC/ FKA VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORES IN	2.20	-7.80	254.00	238.10	7
B	MARSHALL FIELDS	-0.10	-10.50	218.00	221.00	-1
B	FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES INC/NEW	-0.10	-7.40	1460.00	1470.00	-1
E	VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORE	-0.40	-10.30	160.05	160.60	-0
E	BON TON STORES INC	-0.70	-10.40	141.20	73.90	91
D	JC PENNEY COMPANY INC	-0.80	.01	1384.00	1415.00	-2
C	MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY INC	-1.20	-7.90	1260.00	1295.10	-3
A	MERVYNS	-1.50	-12.50	339.00	339.00	0
F	GOTTSCHALKS INC	-1.70	-4.00	67.10	68.70	-2
C	SEARS ROEBUCK & COMPANY	-3.60	-10.90	2500.00	2607.50	-4
A	KOHLS CORP	-4.40	-3.40	1187.00	1090.00	9
D	STAGE STORES INC	-5.80	-9.40	96.10	71.40	35
D	DILLARDS INC	-6.00	-7.00	574.04	613.60	-6

Credit Rating	Drug Stores	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Drug Stores	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
A	WALGREEN COMPANY INC	10.70	7.00	2924.00	2538.90	15
B	CVS CORP	5.30	10.20	2070.00	1930.00	7
D	ECKERD DRUG CO/DIV OF JC PENNEY	-2.70	6.70	1145.00	1137.00	1

Credit Rating	Fabrics & Notions	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Fabrics & Notions	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
D	JO ANN STORES INC	-0.20	1.90	180.00	181.60	-1
A	HANCOCK FABRICS INC	-2.90	12.80	43.60	44.70	-2

Credit Rating	Footwear Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Footwear Retail	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
D	DSW SHOE WAREHOUSE INC.	9.50	2.60	63.51	50.17	27
D	NATURALIZER RETAIL / SEE BROWN SHOE COMPANY	-0.90	10.90	10.80	11.40	-5
C	PAYLESS SHOESOURCE INC/SS	-5.20	-0.50	208.50	217.20	-4
C	SHOE CARNIVAL INC	-7.80	.50	43.40	42.40	2

Credit Rating	Home Furnishings	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Home Furnishings	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
B	MICHAELS STORES INC	2.00	-6.00	375.40	349.50	7
A	PIER 1 IMPORTS INC	1.10	1.20	170.91	155.00	10
B	BOMBAY COMPANY INC	1.00	17.00	62.30	56.80	10
B	INTERTAN INC	.01	3.00	47.76	38.50	24
A	HAVERTY FURNITURE COMPANIES	-0.40		68.20		0

Credit Rating	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
B	COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP	9.00	2.00	3790.00	3240.00	17
B	BJS WHOLESALE CLUB	8.40	.50	564.66	500.00	13
D	TARGET STORES	7.40	-5.70	3781.00	3313.00	14
B	TARGET CORP/FKA DAYTON HUDSON	6.20	-6.70	4414.00	3937.00	12
D	BIG LOTS INC /FKA CONSOLIDATED STORES INC	5.60	-5.90	447.40	405.60	10
B	SAMS CLUB	4.70	1.30	2842.00	2646.00	7
B	PAMIDA HOLDINGS CORP	4.00	-7.70	71.70	69.50	3
B	WAL MART STORES INC	3.90	2.60	21657.00	20997.00	3
B	WAL MART STORES	3.70	2.80	14764.00	13700.00	8
D	DUCKWALL ALCO STORES INC	3.20	-9.40	37.20	34.60	8
B	FREDS INC	3.10	7.20	114.20	100.10	14
B	DOLLAR GENERAL CORP	1.70	.50	575.30	522.40	10
D	SHOPKO STORES INC	-0.40	-10.90	286.80	288.00	-0
B	FAMILY DOLLAR STORES INC	-0.70	-0.70	402.60	366.00	10
D	SHOPKO STORES	-1.70	-11.90	215.10	218.90	-2

Credit Rating	Other Retail Stores	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Other Retail Stores	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
C	BATH & BODY WORKS/LIMITED BRANDS	6.00	-1.00	0	0	0

Credit Rating	Sporting Goods Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Sporting Goods Retail	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Nov 2003	Nov 2002	Sales % Change
D	WEST MARINE INC	4.50	-0.80	34.50	27.00	28

Performance Insight

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	Comp %
APP	A	CHICOS FAS INC	16.3
APP	C	CHILDRENS PLACE RETAIL STORES	14.0
APP	B	PACIFIC SUNWEAR OF CALIFORNIA INC	11.7
DR	A	WALGREEN COMPANY INC	10.7
APP	A	AEROPOSTALE INC	10.3
APP	C	ANNTAYLOR STORES CORP/HC	9.6
FW	D	DSW SHOE WAREHOUSE INC.	9.5
APP	A	BEBE STORES INC	9.1
MM	B	COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP	9.0
MM	B	BJS WHOLESALE CLUB	8.4

Top 10 Retail Performers

Women and Children First! holds true for our Top 10 Retailers list as Chico[s] and the [M]ann[taylor]'s exclusive private label fashions found favor with Mom, complemented by kiddie clothes at The Children's Place. ... Pac Sun still packs in the teens with its dual PacSun and D.E.M.O. formats. ... Holiday assortments were a love letter to Aeropostale's sales while BeBe's turnaround continues. ... Walgreen remains the pinnacle of the druggists, widening the gap on competitors. ... New clothing purchases were accessorized by footwear at DSW. ... The clubs (BJs and Costco) both benefited greatly by feasting gourmets and gourmands.

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	TY	LY
APP	C	CHILDRENS PLACE RETAIL STORES	14.0	-18.0
APP	A	BEBE STORES INC	9.1	-15.1
APP	C	ANNTAYLOR STORES CORP/HC	9.6	-10.3
DEP	D	SAKS INC/FKA PROFFITTS INC	6.7	-7.0
MM	D	TARGET STORES	7.4	-5.7
MM	B	TARGET CORP/FKA DAYTON HUDSON	6.2	-6.7
MM	D	DUCKWALL ALCO STORES INC	3.2	-9.4
APP	F	FACTORY 2 U STORES INC/ FKA FAMILY BARGAIN CORP	2.9	-9.6
APP	A	MENS WEARHOUSE INC,THE	5.9	-6.3
APP	F	FILENES BASEMENT CORP/SEE SCHOTTENSTEIN	6.7	-5.3

Rising Stars - Most Improved

A solid recovery from substantive comp declines last November placed all members on our list of Rising Stars. ... Better merchandising (Anntaylor and Children's Place) and growth in luxury items (Saks) were key. ... They just keep doing it better at BeBe. ... Target Stores' susbtantial comp improvement bolstered overall corporate performance as Marshall Fields and Mervyn's lessened their drag. ... Consumables from health and beauty aids and softgoods joined by strong hardgoods performance took the "uck" out of DUCK. ... More traffic, more transactions and better comps for the Factory from footwear and Men's apparel while Women's wear was the only weakness. ... Job seekers and job keepers put on more ties (from the Wearhouse), refurbishing their business wardrobes. ... Management changes and merchandising initiatives started to bear fruit as Filene's picked their way out of the Basement.

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	Comp %
APP	D	GADZOOKS INC	-28.1
APP	E	WILSONS THE LEATHER EXPERTS INC	-16.5
APP	E	FASHION BUG	-14.0
APP	A	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO	-13.0
APP	C	EXPRESS INC/LIMITED BRANDS	-10.0
APP	B	DEB SHOPS INC	-9.7
APP	C	LIMITED STORES INC ,THE/LIMITED BRANDS	-9.0
APP	B	CATO CORP	-9.0
APP	D	CHARMING SHOPPES INC	-8.0
APP	11	EDDIE BAUER INC/CASE#03-11547	-8.0

Bottom 10 Retail Performers

The weak get weaker as Gadzooks and Wilsons failed to stem their comp declines as new formats and product offerings failed to find favor with even bargain hunting consumers. ... Fashion Bug failed to sustain October's positive momentum, falling preciptiously in November as the large size market continues to be over inventoried. ... Fashion's failures were charmless to Charming Shoppes. ... Teens, returning to the Gap, have "Express"ly left their sneaker marks on the backs of Abercrombie and the Limited/Express. ... Juniors across all size ranges failed to get Deb Shops into positive comp territory. ... Stressing value, Cato merchandsing failed to drive sufficient traffic. ... Even with an extra sales week this November and [supposed] benefits from store closures, Eddie Bauer's comps continued their decline.

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	TY	LY
APP	D	GADZOOKS INC	-28.1	-1.2
APP	E	FASHION BUG	-14.0	5.0
HF	B	BOMBAY COMPANY INC	1.0	17.0
FN	A	HANCOCK FABRICS INC	-2.9	12.8
FW	D	NATURALIZER RETAIL / SEE BROWN SHOE COMPANY	-0.9	10.9
APP	B	MOTHERS WORK INC / MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY	-3.7	7.9
APP	C	LIMITED STORES INC ,THE/LIMITED BRANDS	-9.0	2.0
APP	B	CATO CORP	-9.0	1.0
APP	B	DEB SHOPS INC	-9.7	-0.3
DR	D	ECKERD DRUG CO/DIV OF JC PENNEY	-2.7	6.7

Falling Stars - Sharpest Decline

Gadzooks "I'm falling and I can't get up"...Why it appears no one has the Bug for Fashion shopping, bemoaned both managements. ... It was hot in Bombay and sales stayed just that way as their streak of positive (albeit reduced) comps continued. ... The Fabric of Hancock's sales frayed as the color red bled negative comps. ... When you have to beat 10.9% numbers the race is naturally tough and Naturalizer partially neutralized Brown finishing in the black. ... Moms were clearly too busy to shop for themselves due to the demands of Motherhood, turning comps negative. ... The brisk pace of women finding clothes to complement their Thanksgiving tables became a victim to the rigors of getting Tom ready for his big day. ... Eckerd's front end failed to perform while its brethren benefited from beauty buyers.

Industry	Industry	Highest	Median	Lowest
RETAIL SECTOR		16.3	0.6	-28.1

APP	Apparel Stores	16.3	-0.6	-28.1
CE	Consumer Electronics	8.0	8.0	8.0
DEP	Dept Store-Catalog Retail	7.4	-0.3	-6.0
DR	Drug Stores	10.7	4.4	-2.7
FN	Fabrics & Notions	-0.2	-1.6	-2.9
FW	Footwear Retail	9.5	-1.1	-7.8
HF	Home Furnishings	2.0	0.7	-0.4
MM	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	9.0	3.9	-1.7
RET	Other Retail Stores	6.0	6.0	6.0
SG	Sporting Goods Retail	4.5	4.5	4.5

Industry Performance

Performance amongst Apparel Stores created the widest swings we have recently reported. ... Department Stores and footwear also fell victim to lackluster sales with a few strong gainers (mostly luxury retailers) offsetting fair to middling performances from the rest of the pack. ... The focus on home and hearth has begun to wane with Fabrics and Notions, Home Furnishings and even the formerly red-hot Consumer Electronics taking a breather on the eve of the Holiday Season. ... Value retailing continued to find favor as bargain hunters and bulk buyers crowd checkout counters. ... A little older, a little wiser and needing a little more help, America's aging population finds solace and sales in visiting their local pharmacists.

COMPARABLE STORE SALES REPORT

Global Credit Services' Comparable Store Sales Report focuses on macro consumer economic pattern in combination with insightful commentary. We include our proprietary rating for each company as an additional criterion to aid subscribers' assessments.

The Comparable Store Sales Report is comprised of six sections:
Top 10 Retailers
Rising stars - Most Improved
Bottom 10 Retailers
Falling Stars - Sharpest Decline
Industry Comp Performance
Alphabetic list of retail sales performances and comps

Proprietary Rating Definitions:
A - Requirements
B - Low Risk
C - Moderate Risk
D - Moderately High Risk
E - High Risk
F - Distressed Company

Methodology:
Multiple operating units of a company are reported separately as well as on a consolidated basis. Each operating unit references its parent.

For Example:
Target Corp – the consolidated figures.
Target Stores – solely the mass merchant store figures.
Mervyns – department store figures.
Marshall Fields – department store figures.

Catalog operations with a retail component Spiegel/Eddie Bauer will have the comparable store sales numbers for the Eddie Bauer stores listed under both Eddie Bauer and Spiegel but will consolidate the sales under Spiegel. (Eddie Bauer does not provide separate sales figures.)

Neither JC Penney nor Brown Shoe provides consolidated figures. Therefore, information is entered separately for each unit for which they supply monthly sales.