RetailStocks posts
FeedPosted Nov 4th 2009 8:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Blockbuster Inc 'A' (BBI), Best Buy (BBY), Media World, Technology
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) may be the world's largest electronics retailer, but it realizes that it faces a huge threat to a hefty chunk of its business. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is moving plenty of movies and other soon-to-be former DVD fare through iTunes, staking a claim on a business that once belonged to Best Buy. The big box store is getting ready to fight back (finally?).
Using technology it's licensing from Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), Best Buy is opening an online store for movies and television shows. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn says this move will expand the company's presence in services and will bolster company loyalty. That's the press release version, of course. The reality is that Best Buy needed to do something to protect this portion of its revenue and probably should have made the move several years ago.
Continue reading Best Buy follows Amazon into the clouds
Posted Oct 26th 2009 11:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Consumer experience, Internet, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN)
Traditional retailers haven't exactly embraced online sales channels. Sure, they all have websites, and they sell varying amounts of merchandise through them, but they've been slow to tap into the potential. When I was watching the space as an analyst at a major consulting firm (admittedly, back in 2007), many retailers equated a website to a new store opening. Finally, however, this industry is starting to see the potential of this venue, particularly when it comes to tracking consumer behavior.
When the CEO of Macy's (NYSE: M), Terry Lundgren, says that online sales are only good for 6% of last year's total sales, it's a hint. The translation: "We focus on where the revenue is" is much different from "We focus on where the revenue could be." Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), on the other hand, sees the upside of playing in the online space, which is where it saw revenues spike 85% last year. Aeropostale has seen increases in traditional venues too, but nothing like what it's realized on the web.
So, maybe there's something to this internet, after all.
Continue reading Consumers dislike web tracking, but not enough to change behavior
Posted Oct 9th 2009 4:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Target Corp. (TGT), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Economic data, Limited Brands (LTD)
Consumers are finally spending more, with September posting the first gain in more than a year. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) found that retail sales inched 0.1% higher last month. It doesn't seem like much, but a gain when you anticipate a fall is good news magnified. But, it came at the expense of great deals and other tools to entice somewhat hesitant customers into stores.
Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) reported sales increases in September for stores open more than a year. J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy's (NYSE: M) and Target (NYSE: TGT) posted declines, but they were better than expected. Delayed school openings thanks to a late Labor Day helped push to September sales that might have occurred in August otherwise.
Of course, all eyes are on the coming holiday season. The National Retail Federation forecasts U.S. consumer spending of $437.6 billion – up only slightly from $433.7 billion four years ago. So, we still have a lot of ground to make up before we can celebrate a recovery. As long as the situation is staying steady, though, we'll at least have a solid starting point.
Posted Oct 8th 2009 3:00PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newsletters, Stocks to Buy
Validea is an intriguing newsletter that selects stocks based on the strategies of the market's most legendary investors. Here, editor John Reese takes a look at Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO).
"This mall-based clothing retailer targets youngsters age 14 to age 17 through more than 900 stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
"The company has developed a new retail store concept called P.S. from Aeropostale, which will offer casual clothing and accessories focusing on elementary school children between the ages of seven and 12.
Continue reading Market 'legends' like Aeropostale (ARO)
Posted Jul 14th 2009 4:45PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Economic data, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Last summer we lamented the price of gas. This year, however, there's at least one upside. Retail sales for June were up 0.6% - substantially better than the 0.4% anticipated – with the gas prices leading the charge. A slight tip in the brutalized auto manufacturer sector helped, as well. This was the largest retail sales increase in five months.
Gas stations benefited from the cost of fuel, adding a bit of pep to a beleaguered retail industry: sales were up 5% year over year, after doing the same in May. And, car dealers had their best month since January: the sales of cars and parts climbed 2.3%. Nonetheless, this corner of the retail world is still off 14.5% from last year. It may have helped last month, but we're still pretty far from a cure.
Continue reading Gas prices drive retail sales rebound, coveted brands still struggle
Posted Jul 14th 2009 10:30AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rumors, Private equity
After filing for bankruptcy protection a month ago, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (OTC: EBHIQ) is already seeing the suitors line up. Iconix Brand Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ICON), which owns Rocawear, is showing some interest. Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group LLC are also looking to make a joint offer for the embattled clothing retailer, and Golden Gate Capital is said to be interested. Hudson Capital Partners LLC may throw its hat in the ring, as well.
Tomorrow's the bidding deadline, and there's an auction lined up for Eddie Bauer's assets on Thursday.
Already in the game, CCMP Capital Advisors ponied up $202 million in a "stalking horse bid," meaning that it will make the acquisition if nobody else beats its offer.
For now, Bauer's is living on borrowed time -- and cash. The company got court permission to take a loan for $100 million to keep the operation moving until an acquisition or auction is complete.
The private equity firms rumored to be eyeing Eddie Bauer have retail and apparel companies in their portfolios, which suggests a possibility that the company could be turned around with the right investment and management team. If not, I wonder if they'll sell the window decorations at the auction . . . always wanted my living room to look like a mall.
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 11:30AM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, International markets, Newsletters, NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), DJIA, Stocks to Buy, Recession
"The conditions are in place for a 'Best Buy' opportunity," says Jim Stack, whose buy signal should receive special attention give the accuracy of his sells signals which side-stepped the bear market.
In addition, the money manager and editor of Investech Market Analyst is beginning to increase his equity positions, such as Nike (NYSE: NKE). He states, "With a portfolio of iconic brands, an identified growth strategy, recognized innovation, and sound financial footing, Nike fits the bill of being a great company."
"Very rarely do we have all these conditions in place – that's only occurred five times in the last 45 years. Historically, this means we should give the growing evidence of a new bull market every benefit of doubt.
Continue reading Step up to Nike (NKE): A 'great company'
Posted Jul 1st 2009 12:40PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, Industry
Recession or not, people can't walk around naked ... especially not in the United Kingdom. (Iceland in summer? Fair game.) Marks & Spencer Group Plc (London: MKS:UK), the largest clothing retailer in the country, just sustained its smallest drop in sales in nearly two years thanks to some savvy deals (offered to consumers) and warm weather. After making their dollars pounds stretch for so long, shoppers were finally ready for a bit of style.
Revenue declined a modest 1.4% for the year so far, much better than the 2.5% average estimate offered by 16 analysts. This was good enough to push M&S shares up 4%. If all goes well, same store sales may start to increase soon, which means that a full recovery will be right around the corner. Same store sales have fallen for the past seven quarters, and company cut its dividend for the first time in almost a decade.
The discounts that helped lead to the recent M&S sales performance are responsible for 18% of the company's food sales (which are down 0.5% on for same store) – much better than the 2.4% estimate. General merchandise fell only 2.4%, beating the 3.5% projection handily.
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 5:33PM by Jim Woods (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN), McDonald's (MCD), Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell
A recent Time magazine cover story described it as, "The New Frugality." The "it" here is the change in behavior, attitudes and even values Americans are embracing as a byproduct of the "Great Recession." It's just a fact that most of us have in some way or another altered our spending habits to a more frugal lifestyle as a direct result of the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.
One company feeling the sting of the country's new frugality is high-end retailer Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM). Today the company reported a Q1 loss of $18.7 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with a profit of $10.4 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier. A performance not uncommon for retail stocks these days.
The losses were actually smaller than the company had projected, but those previous projections included a slashed advertising budget, a cut in capital spending and lowered merchandise inventories. More importantly, the company said that revenue in the quarter ended May 3 fell 22% to $611.6 million. Yikes!
Of course, Wall Street rewarded the anemic results with a near-10% drop in Wednesday's trade. So, what does the Williams-Sonoma miss tell us?
Continue reading Attention Williams-Sonoma: Get used to a 'frugal nation'
Posted Mar 25th 2009 11:00AM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Insiders

Shares of
American Apparel (AMEX:
APP) have been poor performers since the company went public through a special-purpose acquisition vehicle, even though the company's same-store sales numbers have been incredibly impressive.
The company's shares have rebounded recently following the announcement of a major investment by Lion Capital. Now CEO Dov Charney is making his first trades in his company's stock since it went public and guess what? He's buying: 855,000 shares for $2.67 million, including 460,000 shares purchased on margin.
Continue reading American Apparel CEO buys company stock
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 3:50PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newsletters, Staples Inc (SPLS), Stocks to Buy
"I've always liked Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS); the company has traditionally put up good numbers, and the stock price has been rewarding for investors over the years," says Chuck Carlson, noting, "Staples is the world's largest office products company. With $27 billion in sales, Staples serves customers in 27 countries."
The editor of the blue chip advisory, The DRIP Investor, adds, "The stock has gotten hammered by a variety of issues." Here's his review. It is down 40% from its 52-week high
"Yes, the environment for retailers is lousy. Yes, it's tough to see any near-term improvement. And, yes, debt is evil right now. But the stock is already discounting to a large degree those negatives. The stock's current price level is attractive enough to warrant some nibbling.
Continue reading Staples: Rewards for patient investors
Posted Mar 5th 2009 3:50PM by Jamie Dlugosch (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Good news, Stocks to Buy, Recession
Discount retailer Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) saw its shares surge higher in Wednesday trading after it posted a fourth-quarter profit from continuing operations that came in ahead of analysts expectations and offered a better-than-expected outlook.
Clearly, investors view BIG as a recession stock to own.
Earnings from continuing operations totaled a dollar per share, ahead of the 93 cents per share analysts were expecting, and 3 cents higher than the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell to $1.37 billion from $1.41 billion last year, but beat expectations of $1.36 billion. Same-store sales fell a mild 3.2%, as sales of discretionary items, such as furniture and toys, were challenging.
Continue reading Recession stock: Big Lots
Posted Feb 25th 2009 6:05PM by Jamie Dlugosch (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Bad news, Consumer experience, Wal-Mart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), Recession

One of the few companies not participating in
yesterday's broad-based rally was retail giant
Target Corporation (NYSE:
TGT). Target said its fourth-quarter profit fell 41% in the quarter ended Jan. 31, 2009.
The Minneapolis-based company said earnings fell to $609 million, or 81 cents per share, compared to earnings of $1.03 billion, or $1.23 per share, in the year ago period. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts were expecting earnings of 83 cents per share.
Continue reading Target not on target
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