Moderate back-to-school sales forecast

The first back-to-school shopping forecast is out, and U.S. sales should rise 3 percent this year to $39 billion.

That's the assessment of the International Council of Shopping Centers for the second-busiest shopping season of the year, a period that roughly runs from mid-July to mid-September. It ranks only behind Christmas for volume of retail sales.

"The 2011 retail environment is a bit different from 2010 and while we expect this year to be slightly more moderate than last, the overall message from this projection is that sales are still likely to be quite healthy," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC.

"While there have been some marginal improvements in both consumer confidence and the unemployment rate, compared to the lead-in to the 2010 back-to-school season, the rise in cotton prices has led to increased prices on apparel, a key category in back-to-school spending," he said. "The other reason to expect 2011 back-to-school sales growth to be more moderate than in 2010 is that the 2010 experience reflected the recovery from a sharp drop in 2009."

According to ICSC's forecast, family clothing and shoes will be the strongest performing segments posting 3.5 percent gains respectively, while books will be the weakest segment, increasing by 1.5 percent.

Food line

Quyen, a former Chinese restaurant in James Island Shopping Center that closed two months ago, reopened Wednesday under the same name after being remodeled but with a new format.

The 94-seat restaurant at 1739 Maybank Highway serves Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine and now includes a bar, which it didn't have before, according to assistant manager Taylor Jordan. It also includes a children's play area and an arcade, and it's open seven days a week. The new owner is Loan Ly.

Going dark

K. Morgan clothing shop at 93 Society St. in downtown Charleston will close Monday, according to a clerk at the store. All merchandise is marked down as much as 90 percent, and all the fixtures, hangers and displays are for sale. The retailer opened on King Street in early 2008 and moved to its existing location last summer.

New name

The James Island venue known for years as Oasis recently opened under a new name. Now The Edge, the bar is at 778 Folly Road.

On the menu

Silos restaurant recently opened at 106 Martin Luther King Blvd. in St. Stephen. It serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, including hamburgers, sandwiches, soft-serve ice cream and other American fare. The owners are John and Elizabeth West.

Do you know of a business that is opening, closing or expanding? Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524.