There isn't going to be any doubt that they're going to close some stores. It may be substantial. |
There was overall confidence in the consumer's mind, with jobs stable and gasoline prices going down. |
There's business to be had. The driving factors are the catalog and Internet guys. |
These are not cookie-cutter businesses. They require unique discipline and mind set. |
These little niche markets such as banking and publishing don't make economic sense for Wal-Mart, |
They have significant challenges ahead. May stores had a lot of loyal customers, and it won't be easy to convert them. |
They need to be rid of (Rampage) as soon as possible. |
They've got locations that Wal-Mart would die for. They're in visible locations in communities where people spend money. There's no reason this thing can't be turned around. |
This convenience issue is enormous, and it has less to do with saving money than with saving time. |
This is a banner year for online retail sales. The weather was an enormous factor for the big holiday sales numbers. The other factor is that consumers are much more comfortable using the Internet and they're appreciating the convenience of it. |
This was life-and-death for them, ... They had to make some moves to make this thing profitable. |
Typically, when a mall falls on hard times, it never recovers. They end up being torn down. |
We're continuing to see retailers cite the weather for either making or breaking their sales numbers. Frankly, I think is an excuse tailored to satisfy Wall Street. Wall Street is a little more forgiving if a major retailer blames weather for disappointing sales. |
We're still trying to figure out what they're doing. The jury is still out on whether Kmart is even going to survive. |
When you look at any shopping center these days, the risk issue is significant. Except maybe at Fashion Valley. |