Retailers' numbers evidence of a slump

September sales fall as consumers cut

NEW YORK - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and TJX Cos. said profit would be lower than they forecast, while clothing retailer Gap Inc. said September sales dropped 11 percent, as consumer spending slowed toward the end of last month.

The results, combined with sales decreases posted Wednesday by J.C. Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc., and Kohl's Corp., indicate the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression and higher food and gasoline costs have caused consumers to pull back. That might threaten holiday sales, which can account for as much as 35 percent of a retailer's annual revenue.

"The economic conditions are going to affect a broader array of people than last year," Laura Gurski, a partner specializing in retail at consulting firm A.T. Kearney Inc., said Wednesday. "The horizon doesn't look that great."

September sales at stores open at least a year increased 1 percent, based on results of 36 chains, the International Council of Shopping Centers said yesterday. The figure was the worst since March's 0.5 percent decline. The group had forecast September sales to be unchanged or rise as much as 1 percent after an earlier projected gain of 2 percent.

Abercrombie shares fell $4.82, or 14.8 percent, to $27.69 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest drop since September 2001, as the broader market tumbled. Framingham-based TJX declined 8.9 percent to $25.15, while Gap dropped 9.5 percent to $13.89.

Sales at older stores increased 1.2 percent last month, Swampscott, Mass.-based Retail Metrics LLC said yesterday. Excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, same-store sales fell 0.1 percent.

"Consumers are bracing for recession," Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, wrote in a report. "Credit will continue to be very difficult to come by through the holiday shopping season, and the jobs market is likely to further deteriorate."

The collapse of the US housing market has upended the economy, frozen credit markets, and saddled financial firms with almost $600 billion in mortgage-related write-downs and credit losses. The National Retail Federation has forecast the worst holiday season since 2002.