Categorie: Equities
Submitted 8 months ago by
Dmartel
, Free Lance Writer
at Affordable Web Design and Marketing
I'm not too sure why this surprised anyone, but overall retail sales were down significantly and retailers are taking it on the chin. Dismal December sales were reported by almost all retailers, and some of them may have been a surprise. According to RetailMetrics (research company based out of Swampscott MA) "Overall the holiday season was dismal, consumers are definitely feeling the pain". Well no kidding. We're paying $3 plus a gallon for gas, unemployment rates are going up, adjustable mortages are going up, housing prices are declining, heating oil prices are out of control - so what in the world would one expect?There were a few 'bright spots' - Costco showing an increase in sales of 7%, Walmart up a meager 2.7%, Saks up .8%. However, the opposing decreases were far in excess of this, with Target down 5%, JC Penny down 7.5%, Macy's down 7.9% and Nordstroms down 4%. What's interesting is the chains that survived the decreases. Overall in 2008 the Department Store sector isn't looking particularly strong and close attention should be paid to your portfolio if you are long any of the stocks that comprise this market. TJX Inc (NYSE: TJX) bucked the sales trend and reported 3% gains in same store sales - along iwth other discount apparel and home goods shops, they said that inventory management and...
More...
Submitted 8 months ago by
Dmartel
, Free Lance Writer
at Affordable Web Design and Marketing
0 comments ↓