1.   As retail sales slid this summer, so did profits.

2.   After all, evidence that personal computer sales were sliding has been pouring in from independent research concerns like PC Data, NPD Intelect and Dataquest recently.

3.   Nationwide department store sales slid for the eighth straight month in November, signaling that consumers remain skittish about spending after the government raised taxes earlier this year.

4.   Retail sales have fallen five straight months and automobile sales have slid six months.

5.   Sales have slid amid competition from similar snacks, and Pepsi said it plans to boost them by improving the product, expanding distribution and increasing advertising and marketing.

6.   Sales have slid eight straight months.

7.   Sales in Asia and Europe have grown steadily in the past year, even as North American sales slid.

8.   But only after seeing sales in Hong Kong slide by a third over the past five years.

9.   Meanwhile, retail sales in September slid for a fifth consecutive month.