RETAILING

Carter Hawley Posts Loss: Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of $25.1 million on slightly lower sales, citing store refurbishing costs and $6 million in markdowns associated with inventory changes. The Los Angeles-based operator of the Broadway department store chain has been repositioning its inventory--reducing, for example, stock of its lowest-priced and costliest apparel and building up its supply of moderate-priced clothing. Same-store sales--revenue from stores open the past 12 months--declined 0.8% for the quarter, a 13-week period ended Oct. 30. The quarterly loss compares to net earnings of $1.17 billion for the same period a year ago, which included a onetime gain of $892 million stemming from accounting changes related to the retailer’s emergence from bankruptcy reorganization in October, 1992.