Bill Dreher
Bill Dreher
accepted building economy gradually
It's pretty well accepted that the economy is gradually building momentum, and Kmart has declared bankruptcy,
mixed separation winners
It was a mixed bag, ... What we got again, as we did in December, is this separation of winners and losers.
best clearly holiday news operators strong today
The news we got today was incrementally negative, even for the best operators out there. And clearly this does not bode well for a strong holiday season.
mark stuff tend
You tend to mark down stuff when you're stuck,
ability analyze concerned customer generate good guys predict sales superior visibility
Even Wal-Mart, with their superior systems, their ability to analyze information, being able to predict sales down to the SKU and generate customer profiles, doesn't have good visibility of what's going on in 2001, which makes us concerned about the guys who don't have that ability,
division expected limited market percent share steal total
While Kohl's is expected to steal market share from Mervyn's, it should be limited to 1 to 2 percent of total division shares.
believe colder february impact likely majority negative retailers sales sets spring store stores weather
We believe this will have a negative impact on February sales for the majority of our retailers as the much colder weather will likely impede store traffic, and sales of spring merchandise sets that are now in stores may be impacted.
believe sales typical unusually update warm
We believe this update is a combination of management's typical conservatism and sales sluggishness from the unusually warm weather.
bankruptcy equation limiting missing situation surprised typical
I really would be surprised if they filed. The part of the equation that is missing in a typical bankruptcy situation is that vendors are not clamping down on them. Vendors are not limiting the distribution of merchandise.
achieve aggressive allowed christmas clearly days despite lack last month plans promotions retailers sales saw strong
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 earnings environment exit hopefully leading market momentum robust sales share translate tremendous
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.
health investors skeptical
Investors have been skeptical about the health of the U.S. consumer, and will use this to take profits.
appear chicken consumer fourth game holding improve initial looking margins profit profits quarter retailers
In the game of chicken between retailers and consumers, with one looking to improve profit margins and the other holding out for discounts, it would appear that the consumer blinked. The initial read on the fourth quarter is that profits should come in better than anticipated.
concern consumer gasoline hurting inflation last months several
There has been real concern for the last several months about hurricanes, about consumer sentiment, about gasoline inflation hurting consumer spending,