Retail sales gains tough to come by in February

March 21, 2016 by MMR Costco Wholesale Corp., Fred’s Inc., Rite Aid Corp.Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Thomson Reuters Same Store Sales Index 2016, Issue 03-21-2016, Issues

NEW YORK — The Thomson Reuters Same Store Sales Index is forecasting a 0.5% gain in U.S. same-store sales for February, which represents an improvement from January but would fall short of the 3% growth some analysts consider a benchmark for a flourishing retail ­sector. Costco Wholesale Corp. said its comparable-store sales in the four