[Retail sales have gone up and down all year, but we won't fully understand what's going on in the minds of American shoppers until the last Christmas gift has been unwrapped. The holiday shopping season accounts for 20 to 25 percent of all retail sales and is also a barometer for the coming year.] We're not out of the woods yet, ... Forty percent of holiday sales are wrapped up in the week before Christmas. |
All the department stores we talked to admit quite clearly it's an unprecedented environment, and they have no direct comparison in being able to plan. It makes their job very, very difficult. |
Alternatively, the offer could generate additional interest from outside parties, like private equity companies, thus driving Sears Canada's shares. |
Any retailer who could not surpass expectations last month has to have company-specific problems. September was simply a stellar month. |
As far as core operations, there wasn't much of an upside there. |
As we get through the season, department stores are going to be brutal in throwing merchandise back to vendors. |
Clearly the last 10 days before Christmas were very strong and allowed retailers to achieve their sales plans for the month despite the lack of aggressive promotions we saw in 2002. |
Clearly they're the leading broad-line retailer right now. They're going to exit this environment with tremendous market share gain, and hopefully they'll be able to translate sales momentum into robust earnings momentum. |
Consumers were not in the holiday spirit up until the last week of the holiday season, when there was a mad rush for the store, ... And the big unknown is the result of that game of chicken, where shoppers waited until the last minute to get the best bargains and retailers held off. |
Consumers were not in the holiday spirit up until the last week of the holiday season, when there was a mad rush for the store. And the big unknown is the result of that game of chicken, where shoppers waited until the last minute to get the best bargains and retailers held off. |
Department stores are already focusing on rejecting shipments from vendors that they ordered. They are also looking to promote inventory they already have in hand. As we get through the season, department stores are going to be brutal in throwing merchandise back to vendors. |
Despite higher gasoline prices, Wal-Mart was able to raise guidance for the second-quarter which is particularly noteworthy because that's also the period that they will have to deal with the lion's share of the gas impact. |
Discount stores have really become an increasing portion of consumers' expenditures. Now there's talk of fluctuating energy prices, job layoffs, and people are looking for the best value possible, ... So we believe the discount stores are going to benefit disproportionately from the tax rebate. We expect Wal-Mart will be the leader in July. |
Discount stores have really become an increasing portion of consumers' expenditures. Now there's talk of fluctuating energy prices, job layoffs, and people are looking for the best value possible. So we believe the discount stores are going to benefit disproportionately from the tax rebate. We expect Wal-Mart will be the leader in July. |
Even though Wal-Mart is definitely in a better position than most retailers to absorb any shortfalls, others could be in for a very tough period ahead. |