Joseph Beaulieu Quotations

Having that backlog helped IBM through the worst part of the recession.

I think the Gap had to come up with something new. It's possible they're trying to target the baby boomers next. Old Navy has been driving growth for the Gap Inc. but it's starting to slow. Its namesake Gap stores are facing market saturation, and the higher-priced Banana Republic brand is a niche concept. Banana Republic has been doing great but there's a limited opportunity to expand it further.

The stock right now is very cheap, the company just hasn't done anything to give investors confidence. Investors are going to have to see proof. I do a lot of store visits and it's very disappointing to see how much is on sale.

The stock has really soared since the beginning of October. I think the stock is worth $27 to $28, so I wouldn't be surprised if it gave back a little bit.

The tactic did not expand Gap's customer base. It only served to alienate its more traditional, khaki-wearing crowd. As sales tanked, the company slashed prices to liquidate excess inventory. In the process, Gap gained a reputation as a rampant discounter, and the brand lost some of its cachet.

So this is more of a longer term strategy for Wal-Mart.

Companies that do really well either minimize something like prices, or maximize something like luxury. It's the companies in the middle that are going to be squeezed.

As of the September quarter it didn't appear that things were getting any better.

This is the first that I've heard of Gap actually revealing what their growth plan is for the brand.

This is a business in the middle of a turnaround. It's no surprise they had pretty miserable comps for the fourth quarter.

They have the opportunity to go to the city and say look at all the jobs we can create.

It's the right thing to do. Food is a major traffic driver. People who go to Target for groceries will also pick up laundry detergent and paper towels.

Gap isn't a growth story anymore. Its new fourth store concept targeting the 35-and-older customer will give it some growth. But essentially the important thing for the retailer to do now is to stay the course, fix the fashion issues, make operational improvements, close underperforming stores, manage inventory and generate cash.

I don't see anything mitigating that, except people taking money out of homes. The negative savings rate means most consumers won't be able to dig deeper into cash supplies.

I don't think these companies results have merited getting hit this hard, but investors are getting concerned with consumer spending as we move into the all-important Christmas season.