While many teen retailers reported strong comps forAug., much of retail was mixed and more sports-oriented stores continued tostruggle in the malls. The Aug. sales picture suggests that back-to-schoolspending remains solid overall, but consumers are not necessarily spending itin sports-themed stores.

August brought some recovery to FINL’s footwearcomparable store sales after tough performances in June and July (-6.8% inJune, -9.6% in July) with only a 0.7% decline for the four weeks ended Aug. 27.Women’s was off double-digits on weakness in performance and kids’ comps weredown single digits. The men’s footwear business, meanwhile, was slightlypositive in Aug., helped by Puma, Converse, Asics, ... Log in to view full article.