New York Transit Strike Has Already Cost Retailers $240 Million

SUZANNE KAPNER and LUKAS I. ALPERT

NEW YORK - Losses continued to pile up for Big Apple retailers yesterday as they suffered through the second day of the transit strike.

With shoppers staying away - and many stores closing early - the city's retailers could have missed out on as much as $240 million in sales over the past two days, according to some estimates.

Michelle Bogan, of Kurt Salmon Associates, calculates that stores lost $20 million to $40 million in sales yesterday.

That's after suffering $100 million to $200 million losses on Day One of the strike, she said.

Of the larger national chains, the retailers most at risk include Saks Inc., whose Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan accounts for about one-fifth of the chain's sales, and Federated Department Stores, which owns Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor flagships in New York.

To entice shoppers, many stores are deepening their discounts, which could further depress fourth-quarter profits.

Saks Fifth Avenue, for instance, started its post-Christmas sale early by offering 40 percent off already-reduced merchandise - a promotion typically not offered until after Christmas, according to UBS analyst Michelle Tan.

A.G. Edwards analyst Bob Buchanan predicts that Federated's same-store sales for this month could be off by as much as 2 percent if the strike lasts through Christmas Day.

Edwards estimates that the Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor stores in the city account for about 6 percent of Federated's nearly $30 billion in annual sales.

Mom-and-pop operations may be even worse off because they are less able to absorb the loss.

"I'm very upset. All year you look forward to the holidays to make up for your losses for the year, and these guys go on strike and ruin it," said Joe Maiale, 41, who runs A&J Cafe in Long Island City, Queens.

"Business has been terrible. It's down 50 percent," he added.

Many large concerns have recognized that the traditionally long hours of Christmas-shopping days aren't bringing in business so they're cutting back by closing their doors early.

Small businesses, such as Hussein Fardos at the Gourmet Deli in Chelsea, are bracing for a lump of coal in their coffers.

"Usually the Grinch steals Christmas," Fardos said. "This year the union stole it."