"We believe our 5% increase compares very well with the rest ofthe industry," Taubman said during the company's Q1 earnings callFriday. "We've had an outstanding quarter, and we want tenant salesto continue to grow."

Taubman said the success of tenant sales is particularlynoteworthy given the timing of Easter, which fell mid-April insteadof March. "We are especially pleased with the sales performancegiven the later Easter this year and the tough comparison with thefirst quarter of 2005 when we posted near-record tenant sales persf," he told investors.

The company's shopping centers were 90.9% leased at the end ofthe quarter, up 0.4% from 90.5% a year earlier. Occupancy was 88.3%versus 88.4% a year earlier. The company's FFO per diluted sharewas 62 cents for the quarter, an increase of 8.8% compared to thesame period last year.