Retail Remains Firm
Retail comps were better than expectations this morning. As we warned during the holiday season, many retailers lowered their profit forecasts, blaming rising costs (thank goodness there is no inflation!), aggressive discounting, and an inability to pass along price increases.
Most stores were in line. Wal-Mart lowered their range for February, but I am not reading to much into that, as the post holiday gift card season ends. February is one of those odd months -- after the Winter clothing shopping season, but before spring shopping.
The WSJ noted:
"January caps the all-important fiscal fourth quarter for retailers, and the increased use of gift cards has raised its profile on the retail calendar during the past few years. Still, it remains a relatively unimportant month for the industry, accounting for 10% to 15% of the quarter's sales.
Same-store sales are a key indicator of overall U.S. consumer-spending trends, but the reports also miss many online purchases and other kinds of retail spending. What's more, not all major chains report sales on a monthly basis, particularly hard-goods retailers such as Home Depot Inc., Best Buy Co. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., which only report sales quarterly."
>
Source:
Balmy Weather, Gift Cards Helped Warm Retail Sales
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP
February 2, 2006 8:48 a.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113882146680362389.html
Thursday, February 02, 2006 | 09:55 AM | Permalink
| Comments (6)
| TrackBack (0)
add to de.li.cious | 
digg this! | 
add to technorati | 
email this post
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c52a953ef00d83471576653ef
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Retail Remains Firm:
Comments
Yes! Thank God there's no inflation. I mean retailers would really be pressed if rising costs could not be passed on too consumers. No Wait?!?! That's wrong/right, wait I'm confused is inflation under control or is it rising. Hmmmm. Let me check the CPI for clarification. Thank God nobody fiddles with the CPI. No wait!?! ...................................
Posted by: David Silb | Feb 2, 2006 1:02:27 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
