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Posted
Oct 19 2009, 09:53 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Layaway, gone from most stores for years, is back this season as stores get creative in wringing every dollar they can from shoppers.
Toys R Us announced Monday it will launch a layaway program for its more expensive items. Chief executive Gerald Storch said customers were requesting the service. Toy sales don't suffer as much as other retail categories in recessions. That's because, when your daughter looks at you with big eyes and says how much she would love the Fur Real Friends Lulu My Cuddlin Kiddy Cat, well, it's hard to say no. And now, Toys R Us and other stores are making it that much harder to say no.
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Posted
Oct 13 2009, 11:17 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Don't look now, but a nation of shoppers is about to be reborn. Thanks to rising stock prices, stabilizing home values, increased savings, improved confidence in the economy, and reduced debt, there is building evidence that the quintessentially American capacity for consumption is returning. The key has been a recovery in net worth and more manageable debt burdens.
According to Deutsche Bank economists, from a low in the first quarter, households are already halfway down the road to rebuilding net worth to the 20-year average of 533% of income. Also, thanks to ultra-low interest rates, debt service ratios are quickly returning to more normal levels even as total debt levels remain elevated. This helps spending since people focus on monthly payments, not the total balance outstanding.
It's worth noting that the stock market is already pricing in a more optimistic outlook in this area.
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Posted
Oct 07 2009, 08:57 AM
by
Jim Van Meerten
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 There are a lot of articles predicting gloom and doom for the Christmas retail season. On one hand we hear the economy is recovering, and on the other hand we hear that we're not out of the woods yet.
I decided to take a very unscientific poll to find out for myself. I'd rather be approximately right than precisely inaccurate, so I called a few friends and asked how they were preparing for Christmas. I got some surprising answers.
Several people told me that they remembered growing up in hard times but everyone's parents had a Christmas Club account. They couldn't find a Christmas Club to join but decided to open a savings account or a money market account and they've been stashing some money away until they see the seasonal sales.
I also heard a term I hadn't heard in years: layaway.
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Posted
Oct 06 2009, 03:57 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Retail sales dropped 3% or more during the 2008 holiday period. Same-store sales at a number of large chains were down much more than that. The trend was so bad that thousands of store locations closed early in 2009 and tens of thousand of workers lost their jobs.
The 2010 holiday sales season may be nearly as bad as last year’s. The National Retail Federation expects a hard winter.
The NRF reports that it expects holiday retail industry sales to decline 1% this year to $437.6 billion. The number falls significantly below the ten-year average of 3.39% holiday season growth.
The news may be bad for the entire industry, but it will be particularly troubling for retail chains that have already had difficult years.
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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 04:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Toys R Us released its list of prospective hot toys for the holidays, and guess what: Most retail for less than $100.
The toy getting the most media attention is the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster, which retails for a very attractive $9.99. "With more than 40 different sound effects and artificial intelligence, these pets will dart around the house, play in hamster tubes, run on wheels and more," Toys R Us said. This sounds fun.
Among those on the higher end, The Associated Press reports, are "Mattel's Mindflex, about $90, which measures brain activity through a helmet and uses it to move a ball through an obstacle course." Great. We'll bring that one out whenever anyone questions our brain power.
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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 11:20 AM
by
InvestorPlace
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 This post is by InvestorPlace's Jim Woods.
The nation’s third-largest drugstore chain is in need of a little first aid. Rite Aid (RAD) came out with a narrower second-quarter loss before the opening bell, but unfortunately the company also cut its full-year forecast due to what it generically described as a difficult retail environment.
The news caused RAD shares to bleed heavily in early Thursday trade, so it’s a good thing the company can draw on an ample supply of Band-Aids from aisle 5. Bing: What analysts say about Ride Aid
If you look at the actual numbers for their most-recent quarter ended Aug. 29, we see a net loss of $116 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $222 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago period. And while the bottom line numbers were in-line with the consensus Wall Street forecast, the company’s sales declined to $6.32 billion from $6.50 billion over the same period
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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 02:24 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The economy is improving, but does that mean people will again go out and blow a few hundred dollars on designer jeans? I don't know about you, but I certainly will not.
Instead, I’m falling back onto old standby: The Gap (GPS).
Do you remember when Gap was cool? I do. I shopped at the GAP from the mid-1980s until the end of the 1990s. But I stopped shopping at The Gap at the turn of the millennium.
Bing: More on Retail Stocks
The timing was no coincidence; a lot of people did the same.. More choices, more niche brands and premium jeans retailers sprung up like weeds as the bull market wore on. The Gap got lost in the crowd, and its business suffered
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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 01:16 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is written by Minyanville's Mike Schuster
Years of mismanagement, increased competition, and ill-conceived promotions have caught up to Blockbuster (BBI). On Tuesday, the company announced plans to close 810 to 960 underperforming locations -- an amount that doubles the previous aim of 410 to 450 stores -- in an effort to stave off the increasing likelihood of Chapter 11.
In addition the shuttered locations, the company said it may revamp 250 to 300 existing stores into used DVD outlets, bringing the total percentage of closed or altered Blockbuster locations to 24% to 29%.
The last few years have been rough for the once-great king of rental video. Netflix (NFLX) has ushered people away from the brick-and-mortar shops to the ease of online rental membership. And Redbox (CSTR) kiosks have been the popular choice for those who need a DVD title for a paltry $1/night fee.
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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 09:02 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 In this economy, it's tough to sell pricey clothes to a penny-pinching public. Even if you're Justin Timberlake or Jennifer Lopez.
The recession is taking a toll on celebrity clothing lines, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sales of products with celebrities' names on them dropped to $2.9 billion last year from $3.5 billion in 2006. Do you really need to pay an extra $50 for something just because a celebrity's name is on it? These days, more people are saying no. Jennifer Lopez' Sweetface line is gone, the Journal reports. Lauren Conrad of reality-television fame had to put her upscale clothing line "on hold." Singer Mandy Moore and Nicky Hilton (sister of Paris) are also out of the business.
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Posted
Sep 15 2009, 01:30 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is written by Minyanville's Kristen Graham
As one of the few freestanding electronic retailers left standing, I’ve found myself warming up to Best Buy (BBY) lately. See, Best Buy is a retail winner. This morning, the company released second-quarter results have further piqued my interest in the company.
The retailer missed earnings estimates as profits fell 22%. But total revenue rose 12%, boosted by the 170 new European stores it opened over the last year. And domestic sales increased 2% -- a solid figure in my mind as positive sales growth is pretty rare in the retail space these days. See Also: Best Buy boosts full-year forecast More importantly though, inventory fell 6.1%, positioning the company to enter the holiday season with a lean balance sheet. And market share soared 2% as its formerly crippled rival Circuit City is no longer in operation and current competitors just don’t offer as impressive of a selection of merchandise.
Despite increased traffic flow, the average ticket fell. This comes as no surprise as consumers simply don’t have the funds to make larger purchases right now. The key point here, though, is that consumers are still going to Best Buy for their electronic needs. Sure -- they may not be making purchases as large as they once would have, but they're still going or switching to the big-box retailer when they need electronic goods.
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