Kurt Barnard
Kurt Barnard
below decent high large last retail sales
I think by and large retail sales will be decent for most retailers, but not spectacular, ... Most will come in with same-store sales very much below the formidably high same-store sales of last year.
higher percent projection
The 5.7 percent projection is not too much out of line, but it is at the higher end of projections,
against easier exuberant far favorable high level retailers slide suffering year
What we are suffering from is the slide from the exuberant high we had a year ago at a level that was completely unsustainable, ... I will also tell you retailers are going to be up against far more favorable numbers, easier numbers.
economic forces high jobs level low money people rate spending work year
There are two conflicting forces at work on the consumer. One is people have jobs, they have money, the unemployment rate is still at a 30-year low of 3.9 percent, a lot of economic circumstances are very, very favorable. A lot of economic circumstances are very, very favorable, people have money and jobs, but they don't have as high a discretionary spending level as they did a year ago.
beyond catching effects factor finally gasoline higher likely next prices retailers softness three weather
The weather was a factor and the effects of higher gasoline prices are finally catching up with retailers at the registers. Beyond that, I think we're likely to see softness for the next two to three months.
available bricks carry click dominant elsewhere factor future highly internet kinds lies operations pure simply
I think the future lies in two different kinds of Internet players. The one is the bricks and clicks, and that will be the dominant factor in the business, ... The other one will be highly specialized pure play click operations that carry things, do things that are simply not available elsewhere through other channels.
activity apparel chains chin couple department groups guiding higher january lower names retailers sales store took weak
It was really the department store chains and the apparel retailers that took it on the chin with weak January sales results. But a couple of names in those two groups are guiding higher than expected, predicated on expectations of lower promotional activity going into spring.
beginning christmas consumer cost economy everybody exciting extra families far gas gasoline high landing less means month pump soft spending toll worried year
Everybody is worried about a soft landing for the economy and a contraction of consumer spending. And come Christmas it will be far less exciting than a year ago. The high cost at the gas pump is beginning to take its toll and for a lot of families spending an extra $20-to-$25 a month on gasoline means spending that much less on stores.
attractive pay question stores terms ultimately
I think ultimately they will do better than they have done in some years, ... There's no question the much more attractive stores will pay off in terms of improvement, but will they be able to come through with big earnings? The jury's still out.
experience few introduced shopping store
Kohl's did a few things that made the shopping experience easier, ... They introduced shopping carts, centralized checkout counters and an easy-to-shop store layout.
few last ranks retail saw top weekend
Last weekend we saw a massacre. There were a few shakeups in the top ranks of some retail names, and that's to be expected.
few last ranks retail saw top weekend
Last weekend we saw a massacre, ... There were a few shakeups in the top ranks of some retail names, and that's to be expected.
background beginning experience good immense job length mistakes possible qualify quite retailing taking tenure
I think Conaway is a good retailing executive, but he made too many mistakes at the very beginning of his tenure at Kmart. It is quite possible that his background and length of experience did not sufficiently qualify him for the immense job he was taking on.
background days economic home inclined instead people rely salary street themselves waiting wall
People are more inclined these days to make themselves rely on one salary instead of waiting for a Wall Street home run, and that is the background of the economic environment.