Marshall Cohen Quotations

Last year was a clear indication of where the consumer is heading for 2006. Today's consumer enjoys splurging on higher-end products now and then, but their quest for value still remains.

Trends come and go very rapidly. The problem is that they're not catching on for a longer period of time.

Today's pregnant women are out and about, in the work force, in the gym - everywhere they were before they became maternity shoppers. They may be pregnant, but they are not sitting home and hiding.

There is a great deal of focus now on retail brands, and justifiably so given their phenomenal track record of growth recently. However, this data shows that while retail brands can be highly profitable, national brands are a critical piece of a winner retail formula.

You can't sit around and say it was the absolute hot item of the season because there wasn't enough of it around.

Everybody is coming with a road map. They have their circulars, downloaded coupons. It's definitely a race in the first few hours to get the hot products at the best price.

This year, it is more about stores' trying to manage their business, their inventories and markdowns. They're also recognizing a second holiday season, which begins December 26.

What happened was the retailers got so infatuated with the young consumer, they ignored their core customer, who is the 35-plus customer.

Bargain racks will still be there. They might be a little further back in the store, but they'll be there with a lot of signage and aggressive pricing. Everyone will still have lots of deals.

I'm not worried about the ones that get a bad start. I would be worried about the ones that get a bad finish.