The Easter shift really exposed the soft underbelly of those retailers that have been struggling. |
The looks have become cleaner and more basic. The ramifications for that are lower price points and lower margins. |
The near-term is fraught with more questions than answers. Sales comparisons are likely to toughen dramatically going forward. |
The weekly updates were a little tedious and not terribly relevant. They generally don't measure trends very well. |
We would be better buyers on weakness rather than sellers on weakness, given an expected sales acceleration in April, which could carry into summer. |
While we think the new management team is focused on reinventing the company, the first quarter is off to a hazy start and prospects for the rest of 2003 look even fuzzier. |