ICSC just posted the January data.
The numbers are very similar to December. Without Wal-Mart, same-store sales for the 36 reporting chains would have been down 4.8 percent. In December, without Wal-Mart same-store sales for the 39 reporting chains would have been down 4.6 percent. Luxury stores were down 17.7 percent after a 17.4 percent decline in December. Apparel chains were down 14.0 percent after a 10.7 percent drop in December. More ominously, department stores were down 12.3 percent--almost double the 6.8 percent decrease those retailers reported in December. The only positives seem to be Wal-Mart--up 1.9 percent (same as December) and drugstores as a sector, which rose 0.6 percent. Everything else is negative.
The results are in-line with ICSC's previous prediction that the industry would experience same-store sales drops for the first six months of 2009.