[But Martha Stewart is no Steve Madden.] Teenagers ran into the store and bought a clunky [Steve Madden] shoe but they didn't know who the hell he was, ... For Martha, it's personal and she designed it that way. She was on TV, she was on the ads, and she was on the recipes. She can't escape that and the whole company can't escape that. |
[That may also mean more choice for consumers.] Within the retail industry Federated is known for catering to the classes and May to the masses, ... For the May customer, it's an opportunity to get more upscale merchandise that a Bloomingdales' customer is familiar with. |
[The data coming out of the company is] inconclusive, ... All we know right now is that the company continues to head south. That's what we know. Everything else is unknown. |
7-Eleven is reacting the right way by shifting gears and turning to higher-margin products in food and other categories. |
Also, most big retail chains placed their Christmas orders months ago and the Christmas inventory was already in the pipeline before (the) SARS (outbreak), |
As a negotiating strategy, I would assume Saks is trying to package the whole thing -- to sell the good with the bad. |
At the end of the day, if the quotas stick, the bottom line is that consumers will be paying more for some clothing items by next year. |
Back-to-school has been very soft and therefore prices are coming down. The discount signs are already being made. Both Wal-Mart and Target have had anemic growth over the summer. The only sector that has done well is luxury. |
Barneys is much edgier, much more fashion-forward, and much younger than Saks. |
Bon-Ton has been losing market share and now it's buying more losers, who have also been losing market share, |
Bon-Ton is one of the weakest players in a very weak sector. It is increasing its risk profile tremendously by taking on debt. How does this all hang together? |
Business died for a few days, you've got a ton of inventory, so what do you do? You turn lemons into lemonade and make the week after Christmas more important with super sales and promotions. |
Buyers beware. This kind of move is not sustainable, ... The company went into bankruptcy a cadaver and it's coming out a cadaver. |
Circuit City just hasn't been able to compete on price or variety, |
Food companies need to listen to the whispers before they become roars. If they're not careful, certain types of food could be legislated off the shelf. |