Kurt Barnard
Kurt Barnard
discount dragging home others retailers stores
Discount stores are doing very well, and home-oriented retailers are doing very well. But most of the others are dragging their heels.
adding changes consumer devoted dollars hard home implies kitchens sales spending spent thousands time
Consumer spending is heavily devoted to hard goods. That implies for the most part that home-oriented things have been doing well for some time, ... Home sales have been skyrocketing. Every time a home changes hands, tens of thousands of dollars are spent on decorating, furnishings, adding new kitchens and bathrooms.
coming consumers facing gas home major oil price problem target
The problem with Target is a problem facing every retailer. The price of gas is coming down, but home heating oil is going to be a major problem, ... A lot of consumers are worried.
demand dollars great home occupied sales simply spent thousands time
Demand is great simply because home sales have been going through the roof, and every time a home is occupied for the first time, usually tens of thousands of dollars are spent on furnishing it and refurbishing it,
believe buying cars homes instead people shoes
People are buying things they believe are essentially investments. They are buying homes and cars instead of buying jeans, shoes and toasters.
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.
ahead home lifestyles mile remember stay top
Just remember one thing - the competitive world around Home Depot is changing. Lifestyles are changing. He has stay not just on top of those changes, but a mile ahead of them.
gap time
What the Gap is doing is not only what it must be doing, but what it should have done a long time ago.
clear economy evidence frightened happening list numbers point public saw today
What's happening is very simple. The numbers we saw today are clear evidence that the American public is shell-shocked to the point of being frightened over a big long list of circumstances surrounding the economy over which they have no power, no control.
bottom checks effect hurt itself nightmare results retailers tax worst
The worst part of these results is that they show that the effect of the tax rebate checks has petered out. This is a nightmare in itself for retailers and it doesn't bode well for Christmas. Also, we'll probably see more markdowns now, more than retailers anticipated for the holidays. That will hurt their bottom line.
companies consumer controls decent demand difficult economic evidence good however inventory nobody orders planning spring time until
They are all planning very cautiously, very carefully. Some companies have very decent inventory controls, but however good those controls are they still have to do some economic forecasting, and forecasting is a little difficult this time around. Nobody is going to spring for big orders until there's evidence that consumer demand is back, and there is no such evidence to date.
clear consumer decent evidence expect holiday last modest sales slow spending three
The sales clear evidence of modest consumer spending slow down. We expect a decent holiday sales season, but an unspectacular one. The last three have been spectacular, particularly the last one.
activity early full last levels lower retailers selling store surprised traffic year
Early indications show that store traffic and the promotional activity is at lower levels than last year at this time. I wouldn't be surprised if many retailers try to get away with selling merchandise at full price.
cash clients continue continued february half marked retail sales sore spending stood stronger telling year
February sales were very strong, stronger than anticipated in many instances. I will tell you that if you were a retailer in February and did not do very well, you stood out like a sore thumb. We're telling our clients that the first half of this year will continue to be marked by continued strong spending at the retail cash register.