31.   Discount chains led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported higher sales of hot-weather goods including air conditioners and gardening supplies.

32.   Discount chains continued to be at the center of the sales boom.

33.   Earlier this year, Kmart Corp., another large discount chain, decided it would no longer buy realistic looking toy guns for sale.

34.   Fifteen years ago, big discount chains mostly attracted low-income customers.

35.   He also turned the ailing Two Guys discount chain into profitable strip shopping malls.

36.   He drives a Honda, buys clothes from a discount chain.

37.   He also took over the ailing Two Guys discount chain, discarded the retail operations and turned its real estate into profitable strip shopping centers.

38.   He had no numbers for the discount chains because they are so new to the city.

39.   Improved apparel sales could also help Dayton Hudson Corp., which reported a big earnings jump today, mostly led by its Target discount chain.

40.   In a world filled with such national giants as Wal-Marts and Targets, is there still a niche for a regional discount chain?