New York shops remain closed

NEW YORK

Retailers from Walgreen Co. to Macy's Inc. (M) kept stores shuttered in hard-hit New York and New Jersey while reopening some other East Coast locations as they worked to assess the damage to their shops and sales.

While food merchants will benefit from consumers stocking up before the storm and homeimprovement retailers will gain from the clean-up, clothing and department stores won't get a chance to make up the loss, Poonam Goyal, an analyst for Bloomberg Industries in Princeton, New Jersey, said today. The hit may even affect sales during the crucial holiday shopping season, she said.