According to a Christmas retailing survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, independent retailers fared better-relatively speaking-than chain stores during the 2008 holidays.
The survey of 1,142 independent retailers, selling everything from books, toys to clothing, found that independent retail store sales were down five percent this Christmas season.
That's bad news, but not as bad as for Barnes & Noble, down 7.7 percent; Best Buy, down 6.5 percent; Borders, down 14 percent; J.C. Penney, down 8.1 percent; Macy's, down 7.5 percent; The Gap, down 14 percent; and Williams-Sonoma, down 24.2 percent.
Overall, the Commerce Department says sales were down a record 9.8 percent in December over December 2007.
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