Kurt Barnard
Kurt Barnard
achieved deep gross heavy help pressure reflected relatively retail sales
Most retail sales were relatively decent, but were achieved with the help of deep markdowns which will show up as heavy pressure on gross margins, and that is going to be reflected in the earnings,
both charitable hit reflection seems weather word
It's charitable to use the word 'dismal,' ... It's a reflection both of the weather and the contraction of the economy, and it really seems to have hit everybody.
attitude cautious reflect retail sales
With this kind of weather, we've now had this for some days, I think you'll find retail sales will reflect a cautious attitude on the part of consumers,
beginning caught clearance early earnings everybody four hand inventory reflect rid sales seeing summer three
We're seeing clearance sales that are early by at least three to four weeks. Going back to the beginning of summer they had a lot of inventory on hand and they need to get rid of it, ... Second-quarter earnings are going to reflect the markdowns. Everybody has been caught in the downdraft.
fourth holiday intensely nature quarter reflect shopping
The fourth quarter is going to reflect the intensely promotional nature of the holiday shopping season, make no mistake.
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.
february likely month past results seems seen spring testing
February is a testing month for spring, and the results have not been spectacular, ... There seems to be a sense of foreboding that while spring is likely to be a smidgen better than we have seen in past months, it is not going to be a barn-burner.
beginning blowing breeze caution cold consumers days general headlines layoffs newspapers seeing suddenly weakness winter
There's a general sense of weakness and caution and I'll tell you the headlines in the newspapers these days do not help, ... We're seeing more layoffs and consumers are beginning to feel there's a cold winter breeze suddenly blowing their way.