All Posts Tagged With: "s sales"
Retail numbers were positive for October
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Nov 05 2009 | 0 Comments
Upbeat shoppers led to an increase in retail stores’ increase in sales for October. Some say that the shoppers were enticed by signs of an improving economy and getting a head start on holiday shopping.
Retail numbers were up across the board; with stores like Costco doing well as well as designer brands. The stores that did the best were Costco Wholesale (which operates T.J. Maxx as well as Marshalls), Saks, and Nordstrom. One of the stores that one would think would do well when consumers go back to spending would be Wal-Mart, but the store doesn’t issue monthly sales reports anymore so finding out how it did simply isn’t possible. The next report from it will be the fourth quarter report, which will not only tell about October’s sales but also November and December.
According to MSNBC, the reason that business was up for October had something to do with the cool weather and people’s need for cold weather clothes. Early holiday discounts also brought in the shoppers and it seemed like people were a bit less reluctant to purchase items.
Sales figures are up from October 2008. However, when looking at October 2008’s sales figures, consumer spending simply dropped off. With a bit more optimism about the economy, there is more spending now than there was then, and it will likely continue through the holiday season if the economic conditions continue to improve.
Related posts:The U.S. saw another 284,000 jobs lost in October
Consumer confidence drops for October
Target will rent out retail space to Radio Shack for mobile phone sales
Tags: nordstrom, cold weather clothes, costco wholesale
Recession may be the longest since WWII
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sun, Mar 08 2009 | 3 CommentsThe recession of 1981-1982 was the worst recession, until now, since the Great Depression. Now, some are speculating that we are in a recession that will be worse than the one in the 80’s and that it will likely last at least through 2009.
The 81-82 recession, as well as the 73-75 recession, lasted 16 months. We will beat that figure if the current recession reaches past April.
Headlines comparing today’s recession to that of 81-82:
- In January, reports showed 207,000 manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982.
- Major automakers’ U.S. sales extended their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years.
- Struggling homebuilders have just completed the worst year for new home sales since 1982.
- There are 12.5 million people out of work today, topping the number of jobless in 1982.
Currently, the unemployment rates aren’t as high and he GDP hasn’t fallen as far, but it is getting closer and closer everyday. With the awful week Wall Street had last week, we can only hope that we’ll see a bottom soon.
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Tags: hasn, great depression, slump
Supermodelquins take over pages of Old Navy’s new ad campaign
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Feb 26 2009 | 0 CommentsOld Navy has just come out with a new advertising campaign featuring Supermodelquins, which are just what you think they are (probably). They are manequins that are “fashionable.”
The new campaign goes back to when Old Navy’s ads were quirky instead of plain like they are now. The ads that are broadcast on TV are boring and a waste of space in my opinion, they just say that you can get clothes at Old Navy for a certain price. Yay…
After a sparkling debut in 1994, Old Navy enjoyed several years of rising sales and profit. But in recent years it became an increasing drag on parent Gap, which itself has seen sales sink.
Old Navy’s sales in stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, dropped a sharp 34 percent in January. That compares to an 18 percent drop at Gap-branded stores and a 22 percent drop at their sister chain, Banana Republic.
Hopefully the move will work out for Old Navy. I actually enjoy their clothes. Most are items you can actually wear instead of crazy colors or patterns that I wouldn’t even wear in my house.
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Tags: new advertising, old navy, waste of space
GM may have to cut thousands of jobs
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sun, Feb 08 2009 | 0 CommentsGM may have to fire 5,000 salaried workers soon. When the government loaned them $13 billion, GM was told that it would have to prove itself to be commercially viable. The cost cutting measure comes after GM’s sales for January dropped 49%.
GM, which saw its sales drop 49 percent in January, told policymakers in December that it faced possible near-term collapse without government aid. The company has received $9.4 billion in emergency funding as part of a rescue plan the U.S. government approved in December.
Whatever GM decides to do, it needs to do it quickly. It has until March 31st to prove to the government that it is worth saving.
Related posts:Oil companies have to be doing something bad: Shell is cutting thousands of jobs
Tags: s sales, government aid, jobs
Another so called recession proof industry starts decline
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Jan 16 2009 | 0 CommentsOver the summer, a little picture was being passed around the internet of a small gas station or convienicne store that had a sign in front that said “Beer, now cheaper than gas.” Since then oil prices have tanked and now beer sales have fallen.
From the AP:
SABMiller said lager volumes fell 1 percent in the three-month period that ended Dec. 31, compared with the same period a year earlier, because of the economy.
“Consumer demand has been affected by the current global economic slowdown, and has continued to weaken in many of the group’s markets,” the company said in releasing its quarterly trading update, which does not provide financials.
So I suppose this means that beer is not recession proof, however sales of beer haven’t declined as fast as sales of other consumer goods…and I don’t see Budweiser asking Congress for a bailout either.
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Ultra Light Beer::Less Calories, less alcohol content, more profits.
Tags: proof, economic slowdown, dow
