Discount retailers come out ahead

NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be one of the few broadline retailers to come out ahead in the 2008 economic slump, as consumers switched to lower-priced stores at the expense of merchants known for higher-end and discretionary products.

Stocks of many industry stalwarts were hammered, with shares Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings Co. down 62 percent in 2008, while shares of Cincinnati-based Macy’s fell 60 percent. Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney Co. stock dropped 55 percent, and Minneapolis-based Target Corp. lost 31 percent.

In contrast, Wal-Mart has enjoyed an 18 percent increase in its share price for the year.

Shares of some other discounters performed well, too. Charlotte, N.C.-based Family Dollar Stores Inc. rose 36 percent in 2008, while Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree Inc. climbed 61 percent.