Kurt Barnard
Kurt Barnard
burdened car gas looking money news people prices suddenly taking target
With gas prices the way they are and with people suddenly being burdened with monthly car payments, they are looking for bargains. People are taking their money from Bloomingdale's to Penney, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS - news ) and Target (NYSE: TGT - news ).
apple biting clear create exciting looking market necessary needed order path sour steps strong terribly
What we are looking at is very strong and very necessary steps as the first installment of a Kmart turnaround, ... What he's doing right now is terribly important. It needed to be done, biting into the sour apple so to speak, in order to create a clear path for the future. I think Kmart is going to be customer-centric in the future, competitive in the market place and exciting to shop.
bit customers fortunate looking paycheck people price stores tag wealth worried
Upscale stores have done very well because their customers have been fortunate to amass a bit of wealth, so they're not worried about their jobs. But people who live paycheck to paycheck have to be careful, and they look at the price tag before looking at the product.
anecdotal consumers evidence indicate looked looking price sales tag traffic
The anecdotal evidence would indicate that traffic was not excessively busy. And what consumers were looking for was the sales sign. They looked at the price tag before they looked at the product.
anecdotal consumers evidence indicate looked looking price sales tag traffic
The anecdotal evidence would indicate that traffic was not excessively busy, ... And what consumers were looking for was the sales sign. They looked at the price tag before they looked at the product.
consumers customers evoking exciting finding granted instead looking mistake problem products retailers selling stores taking terrible unusual
A terrible problem for retailers is that most stores are evoking yawns from consumers, instead of excitement. Retailers just can't keep making the mistake of taking customers for granted by selling ho-hum kind of merchandise. Consumers are looking for unusual and exciting products and they're not finding them.
came certainly deal estate looking maybe total
This certainly came as a total surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have. I think we're looking at a real estate deal here.
convinced core credit deliver devote finally impressive next resources results rid sales six slump stuck true
While it's true that Sears is stuck in a sales slump for a long time, the retailer has also been in a restructuring mode, ... By getting rid of the credit business, it can finally devote all its resources to its core business. I'm convinced Sears will deliver impressive results in the next six to 12 months.
consumer continues department discount shift specialty spending stores strong
There has been, and continues to be, a strong shift of consumer spending away from traditional department stores and specialty stores over to discount stores.
consumer continue future growth last mistake moderate reasonable spending stop suddenly trend
This trend is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. Growth will continue and will be very strong, but it will be more moderate than it was last year, ... Make no mistake about it - this growth will continue. Consumer spending will continue to grow, but it's not going to suddenly stop or go back. It will continue at a more reasonable pace.
attack coming cost decline economy economy-and-economics existed extra gasoline gave gone hasten matter paycheck push retail terms
What Sept. 11 has done to the economy is to accelerate, hasten and deepen the decline, but the decline existed before. The attack gave it the extra push in terms of retail sales. If you don't have a paycheck coming in, it doesn't matter how much cost of gasoline has gone down.
eye market needs pleasant stores toward
What J.C. Penney needs to do is to make the stores they do have palatable, pleasant to shop, and all of this needs to be done with an eye toward recapturing the market they've lost,
bought customers good left loyal resist time
Even the most loyal customers won't be able to resist a very good bargain. And by the time the loyal customer has bought all the Wal-Mart bargains, there won't be very much left for Target.
bigger comparable customer improve increasing offers opportunity sales volume
Bigger is better. Bigger offers more opportunities for increasing sales volume and increasing the customer base. It would give them an opportunity to improve their comparable sales performance.