It might take more than the blue light special of a $168 billion federal stimulus package for department stores to rebound from a faltering economy.

Major department stores are in line to report another brutal financial quarter of losses. Sales have plummeted across the retail sector, and mall anchors including J.C. Penney Co. and Sears have taken big hits to earnings.

“This has not been a great environment for retailing,” said Tom Saquella, president of the Maryland Retailers Association. “Department stores now are the middle part of the market, and that seems to be the part of the market suffering the most.”

Boscov’s executives conceded last week that some vendors had halted some deliveries for lack of payment. Boscov’s has local locations at White Marsh, Owings Mills and Marley Station.

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The nation’s biggest retailers also have taken heavy losses this year. J.C. Penney Co. saw its net income fall more than 49 percent from 2007, while Sears Holdings Co. reported a first-quarter net loss of $56 million, down from a net income of $223 million last year.

J.C. Penney, Sears, Filene’s, TJ Maxx and Nordstrom all either refused to make executives available for comment or deferred questions until their earnings reports are released later this month.

J.C. Penney plans to release July sales figures Thursday, and second-quarter results on Aug. 14. Sears Holdings will release its second-quarter earnings Aug. 28.

Luxury retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue are riding out the economy thanks to their wealthy customers, while many middle-class consumers are turning to discount retailers like Wal-Mart, said Jie Zhang, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.

“They’re facing competition on two fronts,” Zhang said. “On the price front, facing competition from discount retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. On the assortment front, they’re facing specialty retailers. The specialty retailers are generally more nimble with changing their inventory to what customers want.”

Zhang said department stores could find strength in offering unique items not available elsewhere, and beefing up their private label clothing inventory. She said they could also build off existing loyalty programs, such as store-issued credit cards.

Federal stimulus payments earlier this year might have helped department stores somewhat, Saquella said, but it’s likely that low-cost retailers like Wal-Mart might have reaped more benefit than large mall anchors. He said Maryland department stores might be trailing the national average due to higher sales taxes and costs its consumers face.

The big back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons are around the corner, and department stores will count on them to salvage a tough year.

“If you’re going to see bankruptcies or closings, you won’t see it until the beginning of next year, if at all,” Saquella said. “Some of these companies still have really strong assets, they have real estate holdings. Even in these difficult times, they’ll still be able to get financing. But they are difficult times.”

Intern Dan Murphy contributed to this story.

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com