While there were some exceptions, it appears that mostsporting goods retailers recorded good gains over a weak comparison to lastyear. Generally, public companies were reporting mid to high single digitgains, though there were notable exceptions in Pacific Sunwear and Finish Linewho were both considerably stronger. Finish Line reported a 21% December gain(see separate story).

East Coast retailers felt the impact of two snow weekends during the season, from which they did not recover completely. It did evidently drive sales to on-line merchants. Many stores also continued to ... Log in to view full article.