Etc.

Name-brand stores enjoy edge with cash-strapped shoppers

A strong brand, as anyone in commerce knows, is a major asset in selling products, with as much as 80 percent of a consumer's choice of store riding on this identification. In a recession, when competition rises for a shrinking number of sales, "brand is more important than ever," says Lee Carpenter, chief executive officer of Interbrand Design Forum of Dayton, Ohio, the world's largest retail brand consultants. For the first time, the company has ranked the top American retail store brands. The order of finish, in Interbrand's estimation: