RETAILERS RACKING UP SALES : CLOTHING REMAINS HOT ITEM IN MAY.

Byline: Joyce M. Rosenberg Associated Press 

It looks like apparel retailers have finally gotten it right.

The nation's big retailers said Thursday their sales continued a comeback during May as women found fashions to their liking and shopped with more enthusiasm than they've shown in years.

Results issued by the big store owners were good, although there were still some weak spots. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rebounded after several months of uncharacteristically sluggish sales. Sears, Roebuck and Co. reported a big gain, as did May Department Stores Co. and Gap Inc.

Last month's gains reinforced a trend that began in February, when retailers who had suffered a disastrous Christmas started seeing signs of a turnaround - even as cold weather kept many shoppers out of the stores.

Many apparel retailers, frustrated until this spring in their efforts to find a style that would sell, saw business continue to improve during May.

``The economy has picked up, consumer confidence has strengthened a bit and the looks that the stores have presented are getting better acceptance,'' said Joseph Ronning, a retail industry analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman Inc.

Still, not all clothing stores shared in the good fortune; competition remains fierce, particularly among department store retailers.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and the Mervyn's division of Dayton Hudson Corp. were among those that lagged.

Retailers have been able to pull in sales without taking big markdowns. That's good for their second-quarter profits and is also an indicator that consumer demand and spending is strong.