Article: The strong excel in Darwinian retail world.(Annual Report)(Statistical table)

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NEW YORK -- Mass market retailing demonstrated impressive resiliency last year in the face of an increasingly difficult consumer environment. With the nation in the grips of a recession in the second quarter of 2008, the challenges ahead may be even more daunting despite a likely temporary lift from the federal stimulus package.

In 2007 a blend of factors shaped the course of the industry. To be sure, mounting economic pressures on America's middle- and lower-income consumers lent increasing importance to the value component of retailers' varied offers.

That factor was visible in the tendency of many shoppers to focus on ...

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