Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, December 28, 1999

Release #509-99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958
Bernadette O'Leary (212) 312-3523 (EDC)



MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY LEADS NATION IN 1999 HOLIDAY SALES GROWTH

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the 1999 holiday season was extraordinarily successful for New York City retailers, with retail sales surpassing last year's sales by 7.2 percent. This was the largest increase in retail sales in the nation for the period from November 26 through December 26.

According to information released yesterday by TeleCheck Services, Inc., the nation's leading check clearance service, same-store retail sales in New York City increased by 7.2 percent topping the Northeast's holiday sales increase of 6.6 percent and the national average of 6.2 percent. New York City's 7.2 percent sales increase was also stronger than Chicago's 6.6 percent increase, Boston's 6.5 percent increase, Atlanta's 6.3 percent increase and Los Angeles' 5.8 percent increase.

"The success of the 1999 holiday season is further proof that New York City is The Shopping and Tourism Capital of the World," said Mayor Giuliani. "This is a great finish to a phenomenal year for New York City's economy. Since the beginning of 1999, more than 80,000 private sector jobs have been created, including 8,800 in the last month alone. More private sector jobs have been created in the first eleven months of 1999 than in any full calendar year on record. Our success in creating new jobs has attracted businesses and tourists to New York City and helped make this an extremely successful holiday season.

"In addition, the fact that New York City saw a more significant growth in retail sales than every other major city in the U.S. is further proof that New York City is the nation's leading destination for holiday entertainment and shopping," the Mayor continued. "And with millions of people looking forward to New Year's Eve in Times Square, I have no doubt that sales for New York City retailers will remain strong well into the New Year," the Mayor concluded.

These increases in retail sales are based on data compiled by TeleCheck Services, the world's leading provider of check acceptance, electronic payment and collection services. TeleCheck's figures are calculated based on a same-store comparison of the dollar volume of authorized checks written by consumers during the holiday season at more than 27,000 of the company's 210,000 subscribing locations.

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