Alan Rifkin
Alan Rifkin
Alan Rifkin is a former contributing editor of Details magazine. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Premiere, L.A. Weekly, Buzz and The Quarterly. His first book, Signal Hill, was a finalist for the 2004 Southern California Booksellers Award in Fiction. He was also a finalist for the 2003 PEN Center USA Award in Journalism . He lives with three children in Long Beach, California...
gas given higher hurt people power prices spending
People are increasingly concerned, given what Wal-Mart said, that higher gas prices are going to hurt the spending power of the consumer.
aided believe console december despite enhanced excitement growth limited sales strong traffic trends tv xbox
Despite limited console availability, we believe that Xbox 360 boosted comp growth as traffic trends benefited from the excitement generated by the new product. Enhanced TV sales were also strong during December and January, which also aided same-store sales.
circuit city clearly direction moving positive step store strategy
clearly a positive step in the right direction, and it showed that Circuit City store renovation and relocation strategy is moving in the right direction.
await believe continues drive expense greater heavy march promotions rely results sales seem signs
At expense of margins, we believe Pier 1 continues to rely on heavy promotions to drive sales. March results seem to have improved, but we await greater signs of improvement.
disposable fill good less oil paying pump spending touching
At the end of the day, with oil touching $70 a barrel, that is not good for the consumer. When we are all paying more at the pump to fill our cars, that's less disposable spending that we all have to spend at retailers.
based consensus current currently forward given historic home improvement line low positive remain sector shares trading
We remain very positive on the home improvement sector and Home Depot's prospects, particularly given current valuation levels. Home Depot shares are currently trading in line with the five-year historic low forward price-to-earnings ratio, based on consensus estimates.