Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Retailers eye some expansion in 2010
After their abysmal 2009, nearly half of all U.S. retail chains plan on at least maintaining their number of stores this year, according to a survey released on Thursday by consultancy KPMG and industry group the National Retail Federation.
Far more retailers were planning to open stores than close them, according to the survey of 310 retail industry executives, representing 138 companies, conducted late last year.
Anecdotally, those intentions seem to be playing out, based on what we’ve been hearing from CEOs on conference calls and webcasts.
Most companies have said they plan to open new stores this year, or were at least considering it. Tiffany, for example, is planning to open another 17 locations worldwide in 2010 (it now has 220). And Saks is opening more of its off price Off 5th stores but is closing its Portland store and could shut others.
Check Out Line: More quarterly earnings to parse
Check out the latest quarterly earnings to size up.
Williams-Sonoma reported a better-than-expected profit on lower costs and strong holiday sales, and the home goods chain said it sees sales and earnings rising for the year.
The operator of the Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma chains, which won many shoppers in the holiday season by offering more lower-priced home decor items, also boosted its quarterly dividend by 8.3 percent.
Black Friday: No riff-raff, please
Bargain shoppers turned out en masse across the land on Friday morning to observe Black Friday rituals, while retail temples from Target to Macy’s to Saks slashed prices to get people to do one simple thing: buy more stuff.
But upscale stores — and some their shoppers — seemed to think the Black Friday extravaganza beneath them.
Affluent Chinese help Tiffany make up for stingy US shoppers
Normally double-digit sales declines don’t cheer investors.
But shares of jewelry chain Tiffany & Co rose 4 percent on Wednesday even though it reported that sales at its U.S. stores open for at least a year (“same-store-sales” in industry parlance) fell 10 percent in the third quarter.
True, much of the hemorrhaging seems to have subsided since last year’s gruesome holiday fourth quarter when U.S. same-store sales fell 33 percent, and November is off to a promising start.
Check Out Line: At Tiffany, the cut is in the costs, not the diamonds
Check out cost cuts at Tiffany.
it is (was?) a recession and people aren’t buying as much expensive jewelry. Sales at Tiffany fell 16 percent in the latest quarter.
But even though profit also fell almost 30 percent, Tiffany shares still rose.
Cost cuts helped Tiffany beat analyst expectations. The company said SG&A expenses fell 14 percent. It’s also slowing its pace of store openings because of the recession.
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s?” Right now, it might be an Egg McMuffin and coffee from the deli on the corner.
Also in the basket:
Consumer spending lifted by “cash-for-clunkers”
L’Oreal H1 beats forecasts, ready to make purchase
(Photo: Reuters)
Check Out Line: Signs of brighter days ahead?
Check out hopeful signs that the recession may be abating.
While recent reports showed slumping sales at many big-box retailers, there are other signs that the economy may be bottoming.
U.S. retail sales rose in May and the number of workers who filed new applications for jobless benefits last week fell for the fourth straight week.
Check Out Line: Austerity the “must-have” item for luxury buyers
Check out what top executives from the global luxury sector have to say.
Chief executives from Burberry Group, Hermes, Tiffany, Rolls-Royce and Richmont’s Van Cleef & Arpels are among the many officials who will speak this week at Reuters’ first-ever Global Luxury Summit about what their sector is facing amid a recession that has even well-heeled consumers dialing back spending.
In a new report, Bain & Co predicts sales of luxury goods are expected to drop 10 percent this year and not recover fully until 2012.
Check Out Line: Diamonds no longer a girl’s best friend?
Check out the quarterly results at jeweler Tiffany & Co. It’s enough to make one question Marilyn Monroe’s choice in songs.
The company posted a slightly weaker-than-expected first-quarter profit and said sales dropped 22 percent as shoppers avoided jewelry. Companies like Tiffany and even more-affordable peers such as Zale Corp have seen demand hurt in the past year as consumers focus on buying necessities in the recession.
Check Out Line: From beef jerky to jewelry, cost cuts pay off
Check out retailers at the high end and the mass level topping Wall Street profit expectations after cutting costs.
Tiffany & Co’s fourth-quarter profit handily topped analysts’ estimates, after the luxury jeweler took aggressive steps to tighten its cost structure as even wealthy consumers pare back spending in the recession.
So goes Wall Street, so goes Fifth Avenue retailers
The fallout from the turmoil on Wall Street will be felt by retailers who have set up shop on one of Manhattan’s most prestigious avenues – Fifth Avenue.
In the past week, Lehman has failed, Merrill Lynch agreed to be acquired by Bank of America, and the government had to step in to keep giant insurer AIG from failing.
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