Sales increases are higher in regional malls than in stripcenters thus far in the third quarter, reversing a four-year trend.But this could be simply a response to the triple-digittemperatures being seen in the South, and not a major shift, saidMickey Newsome, chairman and CEO.

"We feel that strip centers are the future of Hibbett," he said.In addition, strip centers are still expanding, while there are fewif any new malls planned, and other enclosed centers are beingde-malled.

Hibbett opened 17 new stores and closed three stores during thesecond quarter, bringing the store base to 634 in 23 states as ofAugust 4. The company plans to open 28 to 30 stores and close twoto four stores in the third quarter. For fiscal 2008, the companyplans to open 90 to 95 stores and close six to 10 stores. "We havenot set the specific goal for next year, but we believe we'll behigher than that," Newsome said.