Retail MONTHLY SAME STORE SALES

Preliminary 05/06/2004

APRIL 2004

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	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change

Companies Ranked by Industry

Credit Rating	Apparel Stores	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Apparel Stores	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
A	AEROPOSTALE INC	19.30	8.00	57.20	38.50	49
A	CHICOS FAS INC	16.00	4.70	87.20	59.60	46
A	PACIFIC SUNWEAR OF CALIFORNIA INC	11.40	16.90	73.70	60.40	22
C	VICTORIAS SECRET STORES INC/LIMITED BRANDS	11.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	0
E	FILENES BASEMENT CORP/RETAIL VENTURES INC	10.80	-9.50	27.59	21.70	27
A	MENS WEARHOUSE INC,THE	10.40	6.10	123.40	109.30	13
A	BEBE STORES INC	10.00	1.20	30.40	25.30	20
C	ANNTAYLOR STORES CORP	9.60	-3.20	159.15	132.49	20
A	CLAIRES STORES INC	9.00	15.00	93.95	81.90	15
B	BUCKLE INC,THE	8.60	1.20	27.30	24.00	14
B	AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC	8.30	-1.70	115.10	98.20	17
E	LANE BRYANT INC	8.00	-10.00	0.00	0.00	0
A	CHILDRENS PLACE RETAIL STORES	7.00	-3.00	68.70	59.50	15
E	STEIN MART INC	6.70	-3.80	112.50	108.40	4
B	DRESS BARN INC	6.00	-5.00	73.00	66.50	10
D	GORDMANS INC	5.60		0.00		0
C	TJX COMPANIES INC	5.00	0.01	1093.00	956.00	14
C	CATHERINES INC/CHARMING SHOPPES	4.00	-3.00	197.60	0.00	0
D	GAP INC,THE	3.00	20.00	1250.00	1200.00	4
E	FASHION BUG	3.00	-1.00	0.00	0.00	0
D	JOS A BANK CLOTHIERS INC /DE/	2.70	0.40	26.00	22.90	14
B	ROSS STORES INC	2.00	-1.00	322.00	289.00	11
C	LIMITED BRANDS INC	2.00	3.00	586.60	580.60	1
D	GOODYS FAMILY CLOTHING INC	1.80	5.60	100.10	95.10	5
A	S & K FAMOUS BRANDS INC	1.70	16.00	16.10	14.80	9
B	DEB SHOPS INC	1.40	-11.60	25.00	24.30	3
A	GYMBOREE CORP	1.00	11.00	45.30	40.90	11
A	HOT TOPIC INC	0.70	9.00	39.40	32.40	22
B	TALBOTS INC	0.30	-6.50	139.20	131.50	6
A	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO	0.01	-3.00	121.70	102.70	19
E	RETAIL VENTURES INC/ FKA VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORES IN	-0.20	2.00	219.60	205.80	7
B	MOTHERS WORK INC / MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY	-0.40	-4.50	48.00	43.60	10
11	EDDIE BAUER INC/CASE#03-11547	-1.00	-16.00	0.00	0.00	0
11	SPIEGEL INC/CASE #03-11540	-1.00	-16.00	104.40	115.60	-10
D	FAMOUS FOOTWEAR	-1.20	4.10	91.90	91.90	0
C	LIMITED STORES INC ,THE/LIMITED BRANDS	-2.00	-6.00	0.00	0.00	0
B	CATO CORP	-2.00	-1.00	71.20	69.00	3
A	CHRISTOPHER & BANKS CORP/FKA BRAUNS FASHIONS	-3.00	2.00	41.00	36.80	11
E	UNITED RETAIL GROUP INC/DE	-3.00	-12.00	33.40	35.00	-5
F	WILSONS THE LEATHER EXPERTS INC	-3.50	-1.00	17.90	21.50	-17
C	EXPRESS INC/LIMITED BRANDS	-9.00	5.00	0.00	0.00	0
11	GADZOOKS INC CASE# 04-31486	-13.30	-3.40	12.50	21.60	-42
C	WET SEAL INC	-16.80	-16.90	38.90	40.00	-3

Credit Rating	Consumer Electronics	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Consumer Electronics	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
B	INTERTAN INC	3.00	-7.00	31.95	27.90	15
D	SHARPER IMAGE CORP	-3.00	11.00	46.00	39.80	16

Credit Rating	Dept Stores & Catalogs	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Dept Stores & Catalogs	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
A	NEIMAN MARCUS GROUP INC	14.00	3.20	274.00	234.00	17
C	NORDSTROM INC	10.00	-0.30	491.70	439.70	12
D	SAKS INC/FKA PROFFITTS INC	7.60	-2.40	522.40	481.50	8
B	FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES INC/NEW	5.40	-1.40	1134.00	1076.00	5
D	JC PENNEY COMPANY INC	5.30	-6.90	1107.00	1057.00	5
D	DILLARDS INC	1.00	-2.00	542.41	536.50	1
D	MARSHALL FIELDS	0.60	-6.30	165.00	164.00	1
D	STAGE STORES INC	0.30	3.60	91.70	65.50	40
F	GOTTSCHALKS INC	-0.80	-3.00	42.10	43.00	-2
C	SEARS ROEBUCK & COMPANY	-1.80	-3.00	1940.00	2000.00	-3
E	BON TON STORES INC	-4.20	-3.70	83.50	47.50	76
B	KOHLS CORP	-4.60	-4.10	790.80	718.00	10
E	VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORE	-5.30	7.10	110.37	116.30	-5
D	MERVYNS	-6.60	-4.60	230.00	244.00	-6
C	MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY INC	-7.50	-5.60	902.00	967.40	-7
E	ELDER BEERMAN STORES INC. NOW PART OF BON TON STORES INC	-12.90	-5.60	0.00	44.20	-100

Credit Rating	Drug Stores	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Drug Stores	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
A	WALGREEN COMPANY INC	10.30	10.80	3178.80	2765.10	15
E	RITE AID CORP	5.40	5.90	1305.00	1244.00	5
D	ECKERD DRUG CO/DIV OF JC PENNEY	-4.00	0.40	0.00	1151.00	-100

Credit Rating	Hobby & Craft Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Hobby & Craft Retail	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
D	JO ANN STORES INC	1.40	3.50	121.80	119.20	2
B	HANCOCK FABRICS INC	-4.60	1.70	29.00	30.20	-4

Credit Rating	Footwear Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Footwear Retail	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
D	DSW SHOE WAREHOUSE INC.	5.30	-3.20	81.72	67.80	21
D	PAYLESS SHOESOURCE INC	4.70	-4.80	265.60	251.50	6
D	NATURALIZER RETAIL / SEE BROWN SHOE COMPANY	2.30	-1.30	11.00	10.90	1
C	SHOE CARNIVAL INC	-4.60	5.00	48.60	46.80	4

Credit Rating	Home Furnishings	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Home Furnishings	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
A	HAVERTY FURNITURE COMPANIES	6.80	-4.90	57.30	51.10	12
B	MICHAELS STORES INC	-1.00	12.00	210.60	205.60	2
B	BOMBAY COMPANY INC	-11.00	18.00	37.20	37.00	1

Credit Rating	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
B	COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP	10.00	6.00	3560.00	3140.00	13
D	SAMS CLUB	8.30	2.00	2737.00	2494.00	10
D	TARGET STORES	6.20	5.60	3108.00	2752.00	13
B	BJS WHOLESALE CLUB	5.40	4.80	505.35	457.29	11
D	SHOPKO STORES	5.00	1.60	172.70	164.40	5
B	TARGET CORP/FKA DAYTON HUDSON	4.90	3.90	3542.00	3191.00	11
B	WAL MART STORES INC	4.40	4.60	20765.00	18562.00	12
D	SHOPKO STORES INC	4.30	3.50	223.70	224.20	-0
D	WAL MART STORES	3.60	5.10	13980.00	12621.00	11
B	PAMIDA HOLDINGS CORP	2.30	9.20	61.00	59.80	2
B	DOLLAR GENERAL CORP	2.10	5.90	541.10	490.30	10
B	FREDS INC	1.50	8.10	101.70	93.30	9
B	FAMILY DOLLAR STORES INC	-0.40	7.10	398.30	366.10	9
D	DUCKWALL ALCO STORES INC	-3.30	7.10	33.70	34.90	-3
D	BIG LOTS INC /FKA CONSOLIDATED STORES INC	-4.20	7.30	306.00	305.20	0

Credit Rating	Sporting Goods Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Sporting Goods Retail	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
D	WEST MARINE INC	7.60	-11.50	67.80	60.00	13

Credit Rating	Specialty Retail	Monthly Comp Change - %		Net Sales (in millions)		Sales % Change
Credit Rating	Specialty Retail	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Apr 2004	Apr 2003	Sales % Change
C	BATH & BODY WORKS/LIMITED BRANDS	1.00	9.00	0.00	0.00	0

Performance Insight

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	Comp %
APP	A	AEROPOSTALE INC	19.3
APP	A	CHICOS FAS INC	16.0
DEP	A	NEIMAN MARCUS GROUP INC	14.0
APP	A	PACIFIC SUNWEAR OF CALIFORNIA INC	11.4
APP	C	VICTORIAS SECRET STORES INC/LIMITED BRANDS	11.0
APP	E	FILENES BASEMENT CORP/RETAIL VENTURES INC	10.8
APP	A	MENS WEARHOUSE INC,THE	10.4
DR	A	WALGREEN COMPANY INC	10.3
DEP	C	NORDSTROM INC	10.0
MM	B	COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP	10.0

Top 10 Retail Performers

The sun returned after winter's ravages and thoughts of being seen outdoors became a central focus as girls and women shopped for their new fashion looks starting with offerings from Victoria's Secret followed by the trendiness of Chicos, Aerospostale, Pacific Sunwear and Nordstroms. ... Value remains a magnet as Costco and Filenes Basement can attest. ... By the way, our notable standard Walgreen returns to our Top 10 list after a months absence. ... The men in the family got to the Mens Wearhouse so they can shine with their friends and/or families. ...We must point out that the luxury market continues to smile as Neiman Marcus leads this sector's parade.

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	TY	LY
APP	E	FILENES BASEMENT CORP/RETAIL VENTURES INC	10.8	- 9.5
SG	D	WEST MARINE INC	7.6	- 11.5
APP	E	LANE BRYANT INC	8.0	- 10.0
APP	11	EDDIE BAUER INC/CASE#03-11547	- 1.0	- 16.0
APP	11	SPIEGEL INC/CASE #03-11540	- 1.0	- 16.0
APP	B	DEB SHOPS INC	1.4	- 11.6
APP	C	ANNTAYLOR STORES CORP	9.6	- 3.2
DEP	D	JC PENNEY COMPANY INC	5.3	- 6.9
HF	A	HAVERTY FURNITURE COMPANIES	6.8	- 4.9
APP	A	AEROPOSTALE INC	19.3	8.0

Rising Stars - Most Improved

Eddie Bauer/Spiegel continues to wallow in the red, and while it made our Rising list it is not a Star and wants for positive action to signify viability on the retail landscape. ... No icebergs on starboard or port and West Marine is sailing into its season buoyed by low rates and a public that wants to be calmed by gentle sea swells. ... Interestingly, the last firm on this list, Aeropsotale, certainly is a "rising star" borne out by the fact that they also were a Top 10 performer. ... Filenes Basement showed the biggest turnaround as merchandising improved and value shopping is a must for many families. ... Deb Shops and AnnTaylor have both focused on their customer bases more effectively, which is reflected in their sales. ... A sizeable change and large jump in comps at Lane Bryant clearly indicates that this part of the population is not letting all the talk about "no carbs" drown out their voices for full fashion. ... As breezes off the water are the call to visit West Marine there is a contingent of shoppers that want new recliners to view the upcoming Olympics, which is just fine for the folks at Haverty Furniture.

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	Comp %
APP	C	WET SEAL INC	- 16.8
APP	11	GADZOOKS INC CASE# 04-31486	- 13.3
DEP	E	ELDER BEERMAN STORES INC. NOW PART OF BON TON STORES INC	- 12.9
HF	B	BOMBAY COMPANY INC	- 11.0
APP	C	EXPRESS INC/LIMITED BRANDS	- 9.0
DEP	C	MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY INC	- 7.5
DEP	D	MERVYNS	- 6.6
DEP	E	VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORE	- 5.3
FW	C	SHOE CARNIVAL INC	- 4.6
FN	B	HANCOCK FABRICS INC	- 4.6

Bottom 10 Retail Performers

The Wet Seal appears to have slipped into deep comp waters, ominous for a retailer that earned its reputation on being first in junior fashion; it does rain in southern California. ... Gadzooks' comps are unfortunate evidence of why it now resides in Chapter 11 as its conversion to an all womens format sapped their balance sheet and they lost merchandising focus. ... Bon Ton is finding that digesting integration of Elder Beerman is no "bon bon". ... Thrilled with their sales growth but not fast enough to limit imports, Bombay is wrestling with excess inventory that will take until June to clear. ... Mervyns, not the magican this month, and a step child of Target is not getting the attention necessary to meet the competitive incursion from Kohls. ... Private apparel labels are "express-ly" a drag and "Limit-ing" results as these comps prove. ... Value is in the eye of the beholder and there aren't enough beholders shopping at Value City. ... May will certainly follow April, but not many folks are springing into May to prepare for summer. ... Shoe Carnival continues to be a solid earner whose comps dipped, as did their peers, due to the substantial amount of retail space dedicated to this merchandise and the lackluster appeal for the "brown shoe". ... Hancock Fabrics brought up the rear amongst the bottom 10, however, this customer base continues to like the "feel of cotton".

Industry	Credit Rating	Company	TY	LY
HF	B	BOMBAY COMPANY INC	- 11.0	18.0
APP	D	GAP INC,THE	3.0	20.0
APP	A	S & K FAMOUS BRANDS INC	1.7	16.0
CE	D	SHARPER IMAGE CORP	- 3.0	11.0
APP	C	EXPRESS INC/LIMITED BRANDS	- 9.0	5.0
HF	B	MICHAELS STORES INC	- 1.0	12.0
DEP	E	VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORE	- 5.3	7.1
MM	D	BIG LOTS INC /FKA CONSOLIDATED STORES INC	- 4.2	7.3
MM	D	DUCKWALL ALCO STORES INC	- 3.3	7.1
APP	A	GYMBOREE CORP	1.0	11.0

Falling Stars - Sharpest Decline

Not really a falling star, the Gap still showed positive performance even against the huge 20% comp increase last year. ... Gymboree also fell "victim" to a tough comparison. ... Similarly, S&K performed well in spite of the Easter calendar and lower advertising. ... The edge has dulled at the Sharper Image after two months of extraordinary growth. ... An anomoly caused by the timing of Easter resulted in a marginal performance at the usually standout Michaels. ... With economic conditions remaining challenging for its core customers, Big Lots did not come up as big as hoped. ... The Duck did not take to water as rain washed out the month.

Industry	Industry	Highest	Median	Lowest
RETAIL SECTOR		19.3	2.2	- 16.8

APP	Apparel Stores	19.3	3.0	- 16.8
CE	Consumer Electronics	3.0	0.0	- 3.0
DEP	Dept Stores & Catalogs	14.0	0.0	- 12.9
DR	Drug Stores	10.3	3.9	- 4.0
FW	Footwear Retail	5.3	1.9	- 4.6
FN	Hobby & Craft Retail	1.4	- 1.6	- 4.6
HF	Home Furnishings	6.8	- 1.7	- 11.0
MM	Mass Merchandisers-Retail	10.0	3.3	- 4.2
SR	Specialty Retail	1.0	1.0	1.0
SG	Sporting Goods Retail	7.6	7.6	7.6

Industry Performance

After a strong March the retail sector's comp performance was tempered by fewer holiday purchases due to an earlier Easter. ... The apparel industry saw modest gains from the inclusion of a few "hot" stores as department stores did a 180 from last year but on average were flat. ... With the warming weather, consumers spend less time at home on indoor hobbys, decorating or channel surfing i.e. couch potato-ing and more preparing for life in the great outdoors. ... Growing numbers of seniors have only whet their appetites for health and beauty aids of all kinds as busy consumers found one-stop shop and discount pricing of mass merchants appealing.

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.