US retailers feel the heat of lost winter-clothing sales

New York

HIGH above Herald Square in New York, where pedestrians were milling about in light coats and jackets, Stuart Greenberg, a seller of luxury furs, fondly recalled chilly Decembers past.

"For the first 10 years of our business, we never even paid attention to the weather. It always just got cold," said Mr Greenberg. But sales at his Corniche Furs wholesale business have slumped 30 per cent this month.