Led by High-End Stores, Retail Sales Rose 4.1% in Oct.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said its same-store sales rose 2.8 percent with customers financially pinched. (David Adame -- AP)

Same-store sales offer the most accurate retail figures because they exclude results from new and closed locations.

It was a mixed month for mid-price department stores, which have limped through much of the past year as they seek new ways to compete with discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target.

Federated Department Stores Inc., the Cincinnati-based owner of Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Lazarus, said sales jumped 4 percent.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. of Hoffman Estates, Ill., said sales rose a modest 1.9 percent.

St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co., owner of Lord & Taylor, Filene's and Hecht's, reported that same-store sales dropped 2.3 percent.

The typically volatile teen clothing market, whose fortunes are often tied to a handful of hot products, experienced strong growth in October. Retail analysts credited that growth to high demand for sweaters, denim and knitwear.

Sales grew 29.2 percent at American Eagle Outfitters Inc. of Warrendale, Pa., and 11 percent at New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co., both of which focus on fashions for the teen and college-age consumer.

"The teen apparel market just exploded last month," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a national retail consulting firm.

Tom Lennox, a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch, said the chain has seen high demand for men's and women's fleece and denim.

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimated the teen market grew 7.9 percent in October, compared with a nearly 1 percent decline in September. "That is pretty healthy growth," said Michael P. Niemira, the trade group's chief economist.