Retail Quotations | Page 6

Wal-Mart got the traffic, but not the margins, and that will raise questions about fourth-quarter earnings for retail in particular and the consumer sector in general. That's giving you some early caution.

Wal-Mart and Target continue to prove that they can operate well in this challenging retail environment and deliver profits despite modest to weak sales results.

The real problem is structural: retail consolidation, difficulties in the classified auto space and competition from other media.

The reality of retail is that the busiest times are evenings and weekends in this market. We're trying to develop an optimal schedule that would best serve our customers. In order to ensure there are appropriate number of employees to serve those customers, we're asking associates that work daytime schedules to be more flexible.

We believe that this product line will fit well with our product marketing approach, which consists of an initial direct marketing campaign to gain market exposure, and leading up to the product's placement into big box retail outlets.

We planned on lower revenues because we are in the midst of transforming the business in Europe, and in the U.S. some of our retail customers are consolidating.

When ready, we will roll-out with the goal of establishing retail destination sites in appropriate venues, including Nashville, Newport Beach, Harlem and Austin. Importantly, each shop will be designed with memorable visual elements or artifacts germane to the specific locale, and will be promoted by celebrities who are both national and 'local' in their appeal.

While taking profits on some issues, retail investors continued to look for bargains among domestic economy-sensitive issues as they remain optimistic about the market's outlook.

We view this merger as great news, ... In general, larger bottlers can operate more efficiently, compete more efficiently against other big bottlers and, most important, better serve the needs of our rapidly consolidating retail customers.

We view the additional advertising expense during the quarter as an important investment in building the Circuit City brand. Since our retail stores team held labor expense relatively flat on a dollar basis, we were able to gain significant leverage on our higher level of sales as we continued work to optimize the labor model in our stores." ()

Those who rejected the bid from Philip Green have been vindicated. Despite very tough retail conditions, the management are delivering.

UBS gets one of the top-flight U.S. high net worth distribution systems. PaineWebber gets a global platform, by which it can continue to pursue its high net worth retail business.

We can't rule out double-digit retail sales growth in the final quarter.

We continually evaluate our distribution network looking at changing market conditions, retail development and customers' banking habits.

We have been selling a wide variety of software for many years, ... There are many great tools available to help retail investors, we like to sort through what's out there and bring the best to users of our network.

When people come to our stores to buy a new PC or new software for their PC, we want to be able to offer them a broad set of choices, immediate availability and a great retail experience. We agree with Microsoft that it's best to do this right -- and in this case it's delivering Windows Vista-based PCs with confidence in January 2007.

We will fully implement our strategy in the retail market.

This will be a concept that will change the way we look at retail next year. There is no question about it.

This report backs the Reserve Bank remaining on hold ahead. Weakness in retail and transport is being mitigated by a pickup in mining and construction.

There have long been rumors surrounding Lloyds as a potential bid target. Wells Fargo has a large part of its business in the retail banking arena so to take over someone like Lloyds would make a lot of sense.

There is a bit of risk because it will probably pump up real retail sales ... from all the various tax cuts.

There is a 12-cent per gallon normal retail markup. But usually, the profit margin is about two cents a gallon.

There has been a fairly marked recovery in retail demand that has created a slightly greater lift in trade prices than we saw during the first quarter of last year. This means that, for the time being, at least the market has arrested the slide in residual values.

We're trying to democratize derivatives trading by opening it up to the very small retail investor. Many people read in the papers that oil went up, but they have no way of profiting from that.

We kind of do our own thing as an independent. We are able to make decisions and moves that company stores would have to wait for corporate permission to do, ... I have no problems with Supervalu. They have addressed an issue that we all had and that was they tried to play both sides of the fence (wholesaler and retail outlet). I wasn't surprised they announced they are selling their corporate stores.

We thought it would be better suited for commercial use, with everything going on in Market Square and the need to try and develop the critical mass of retail in the village center.

We're not mandating fluffier pillows or creating a legal right to a bigger bag of peanuts, ... What we're troubled by is that unlike other retail establishments, the airline industry basically keeps you in the dark. Our bill is basically about getting good information and empowering the consumer.

We're not looking for a rate cut, ... The UK does not need it. House prices and retail sales are holding up well. This island is relatively strong but we do expect another rate cut in coming months.

This trend demonstrates the growing importance of wholesale as a customer segment, but also shows how increasingly competitive the retail market has become.

We believe retail printing is a key growth opportunity in the digital photo market. This initial introduction is just the beginning first steps in how we plan to broaden our portfolio.

We believe publishing a list of retail establishments that have received products subject to recall will help consumers more easily determine if they purchased recalled product. The F.S.I.S. currently posts detailed information about recalled products, including pictures when possible, on its web site to help consumers identify products subject to recall.

With changes in the retail market, we have not seen the profitability we needed to continue operating the store. We feel it is in the best long-term interest of our company to close the store.

With buying from foreign investors turning less aggressive, retail investors have a bigger presence in the market, and they prefer sectors that produce constant returns to those that have big ups and downs.

With a tax cut coming, I think you've got to be interested in retail stocks, ... And if you have the patient to invest for more than a couple of months, I think technology and telecom are still going to be great.

While fleet sales have been cushioning the blow of weak retail sales, particularly for Ford and Chrysler in February, the Big Three have been promising to de-emphasize this side of the business and headline numbers could suffer as a result.

Yields, especially on the long end, have been dogging the market in recent weeks. And retail sales down more than expected shows enough of a slowing to question whether or not the Fed needs to continue to act.

The project had its challenges. Each of the retail stores remained open and operating as faade construction took place. This required significant pre-planning and constant communication.

There are several factors weighing on the dollar, among them the weak retail sales data and the feeling that Alan Greenspan was backtracking from his recent optimism on the U.S. economy. Greenspan's mention of the U.S. current account deficit has focused market attention on the problems associated with a strong dollar policy, particularly given the recent imposition of tariffs on U.S. steel imports.

We have seen some softness in retail in October,

This will be the retail model of the future. More and more designers are looking to multiple channels of distribution to make money.

There is reason to be optimistic because we are seeing some firming of COE prices, suggesting car sales are still quite strong. Given the buoyant economy and jobs growth, retail sales will hold up quite firmly in the fourth quarter.

This reinforces our belief that consumer spending will remain subdued for some time to come despite September's pick-up in retail sales.

This really spearheads them into the conventional retail side of the business, in a big way.

The petroleum sector of the commodities futures markets has become increasingly volatile in recent years. Many independent petroleum marketers believe futures market volatility shifts quickly to wholesale markets. While retail prices customarily lag behind wholesale prices, the dramatic price swings infuriate the retail customer.

There are a number of consumers I've talked to who have given money to hurricane funds in lieu of gifts. Last year luxury retail was the grand slam .... If this shopper cuts back, it will send Wall Street into a spin.

What's important for us is to focus on stabilizing the retail part of our business, take advantage of new products, continue to build our brands and be competitive.

With our strategic, integrated marketing initiative and the support of our many promotional and retail partners, we are poised to lead the way into consumers' homes with a next generation of DVD technology.

With oil hitting new highs almost every day, there are a lot of questions about how consumers are being hit at the gas pump. The retail sales numbers will offer some clues.

With the close of this acquisition, Bon-Ton has become a major player in the retail industry and the second largest regional department store operator in the country. We look forward to realizing the potential of this business combination.

With the additional pedestrian traffic we are projecting downtown and the additional retail stores, we want to guarantee safety,

Within the retail industry Federated is known for catering to the classes and May to the masses. For the May customer, it's an opportunity to get more upscale merchandise that a Bloomingdales' customer is familiar with.

We would have them study the market and give us a report indicating what retail gaps we might fill and with whom we might fill them. What retail businesses are currently here and in proximity to Cathedral City that people make the drive to.

We will never, ever build commercial or retail space where those towers once soared to the heavens. We will build a memorial that will make our entire nation proud,

When the full story is reached at the end of the quarter, retail profits will be less impressive, especially in apparel. There was nothing in the display windows (of clothiers) to incite cautious customers to buy.

When we listened to the third-quarter earnings (report), their credit card business was performing above expectations and they felt that that was going to mitigate the negative impact they were experiencing from their retail operation.

We are excited to see innovative companies such as Become.com join Shop.org and support the online and multi-channel retail community. We look forward to their contribution as a new member,

We are excited to provide our enthusiastic PC customers with a great retail partner to experience first hand the difference our computers offer in immersive game play and powerful multimedia capabilities. We want to give Best Buy shoppers an upscale computer selection to accompany the terrific service and advice they are accustomed to today.

We are excited about establishing a permanent management team at Team Products International. Mike O'Neal has a proven track record in managing licensed brand relationships, developing branded products and building strong retail relationships.

Two uber-trends are crashing into each other: Retail is trying to turn itself into entertainment at the same time that entertainment is trying to turn itself into retail. What's unique about the Internet as a medium is it's an opportunity to blend the retail experience, the entertainment experience, and the discovery of new stuff. It's hard to do that on TV.

Two that need to be looked at are J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. J.P. Morgan because they have been heavily involved internationally over the last couple of years, and Merrill Lynch is the leading retail financial brokerage stock in the country. How they did coming out of the fourth quarter is very important.

Financially, it's not a bad quarter. The concern from a retail perspective is that top-line sales number. It's not where you want to be as an ongoing, viable retailer. ... Long-term, you don't want to be losing customers.

Few things this important are easy and the company and the bottlers are going to need to find a way to resolve the challenges of the new retail landscape.

First, it is a decent local New York franchise. With the recent sale of North Fork, the retail bank is the second largest regionally based and regionally focused bank behind Commerce Bank.

First is the product itself, which must offer a fresh, bold, and exciting style to consumers, things that surprise and delight consumers, as well as durability and reliability. Second, the vehicle must be priced right in terms of its MSRP to reflect the net transaction price consumers pay to close a transaction. And the company needs to set the right production volumes and adjust the balance between retail and fleet/rental sales to meet the natural market demand.

Financials are the natural choice for bargain hunters because retail sales in the U.S. were weak so investors feel the upside for interest rates may be less than expected.

Both the wholesale and retail environment for consumer electronics is very tough, ... This is a brutal, competitive, low-margin business. Industry sales are struggling to grow because it's a saturated market with too many products.

The government is just trying to sneak in single brand retail companies. The BJP will therefore oppose every attempt to allow FDI in this key sector.

We see slippage in retail construction as a function of increases in energy costs, which cuts into discretionary spending.

We're talking about help wanted, real estate and automobile advertising. They've developed zoned advertising, the addition of color so they can retain their retail advertisers, as well as the addition of special sections. All of these factors have been very advantageous to them to develop advertising and also to retain advertisers and charge higher prices.

The government contributed to that strength by spending more. Retail stocks had a good first quarter because with the strong economy, consumers had flexible spending power. The retail sector still has the power to outperform for the rest of the year.

While we are seeing some softness in many categories, comparable sales performance in our North America retail stores continues to be impacted by weakness in desktops, laptops, monitors and printers and the related 'market basket' of higher margin goods historically linked to purchases of these items.

While the world waits for Wal-Mart to collapse under its own weight, Wal-Mart waits for no one, demonstrating a remarkable capacity to manage the retail lifecycle and keep right on rolling.

While the strong showing at the retail stores and particularly consumer direct was impressive ... margins overall continue under pressure and working capital trends appear to be deteriorating.

While the strength in this report would normally point toward continued Fed tightening, the Fed will most likely put a heavier weight on post-Katrina data, retail sales, jobs created and lost, consumer confidence,

While there are many areas where we think the company can/needs to continue to improve upon, still it is obvious from nearly every client metric, customers are responding to 'Chuck' in a compelling fashion...and we think the client is likely the most important aspect of a retail business.

While the latest retail sales reading is disappointing, the picture of a solid consumer remains, with positive growth in the first quarter, despite the boom in fourth-quarter spending.

You are seeing some strange retail bedfellows. They may compete at some level, but they also bring something to the party where both benefit.

We had a terrific year. Momentum built with each quarter as our wholesale and retail initiatives produced strong results for our company.

We also have a specialty leasing program to help small businesses get started, ... We can help someone get into a kiosk or in-line space depending on their past retail experience and their resume. That information gives us an idea of how well they are prepared to deal with business.

There is a lot of retail being built, but there still needs to be a little bit more, ... and that's going to take some time.

There is a lot of pent-up demand from companies that haven?t found a place to locate. That?s part of the evolution of how retail moves. People have ideas and concepts and retailing advances around those ideas. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don?t.

There is a lot of money to be had in the trade. Per kilogram, sea horses retail for more than the price of silver.

There is a lot of money to be had in the trade, ... Per kilogram, sea horses retail for more than the price of silver.

There is no stopping consumer spending. The kind of money Reliance is pumping in shows its confidence in the retail story in India.

The recovery in consumer spending is in its infancy. Retail growth in real terms has been the weakest in 12 years and is just picking itself up from the bottom. The car market is still weak, with seasonally adjusted sales falling 2 per cent in March after a 2 per cent fall in February.

We will probably see some states this week with retail gasoline prices of $2 a gallon or lower.

We will be converting to ethanol-based products at our retail locations in this area starting in mid-April.

We have adopted a more positive stance in retail and wholesale banking following strong cost containment in 2006.

What Sept. 11 has done to the economy is to accelerate, hasten and deepen the decline, but the decline existed before. The attack gave it the extra push in terms of retail sales. If you don't have a paycheck coming in, it doesn't matter how much cost of gasoline has gone down.

What really happened today is the retail sales report set the right tone, ... It appears that consumer spending is down.

What it's going to take to get retail back in is for the screen to turn green for a while. It keeps looking like we're going to see it, but we just haven't seen it.

We want to expand where we don't have retail capabilities. (We) want to provide full service to all of our clients across the region.

We were obviously disappointed by sales for this holiday season, particularly because we had been outperforming the retail sector as a whole for the previous nine months,

Uncertainty around regulation has a substantial knock-on effect on investment levels and retail prices in the mobile phone sector. Removing that uncertainty would significantly boost the affordability of mobile phones in the region and have a profound impact on social and economic development; mobiles offer the only cost effective way of reaching the hundreds of millions who are still without a telecommunications connection.

To its huge credit, GUS has moved from being a rag-tag of businesses with a reliance on a declining home shopping market to a very focused retail group.

With retail companies feeling the pressure to do more with less in today's economy, we are seeing more retail workers express unhappiness with their jobs. Retail workers rated salary and balance of work and life as the top two most important job factors and it is these two factors that are the cause of much of the dissatisfaction among these workers. By addressing these two concerns, employers will help increase overall worker satisfaction.

You have to be careful. There are not many sectors that are doing well out there. This is a slowing economy. People are looking for security of earnings. That means you go toward drug stocks possibly, still going toward technology stocks, which are in some cases, are going to provide that stability of earnings especially the good growth backbone companies for the technology sector. Avoid cyclical stocks, avoid retail stocks. Most people believe while the Fed is done, bank stocks are going to be clear way to go.

We've really created a buzz in the retail and manufacturing industries. We'll be visible.

Tony Reed has an impressive track record of fueling the growth and exposure of our brands within the retail community, gaining greater penetration for 4Kids licensed merchandise. We look forward to continuing to benefit from her extensive experience, expertise and commitment as she assumes her new role.

We might not see retail sales numbers that are that strong yet, but they will pick up toward the end of the year.