Richard Hastings Holiday Quotations

Sears did a superb job on seasonal holiday promotions in circulars and TV ads and enjoyed a strong November. Sears comparable sales gains compares favorably to last year when November 2003 same-store sales were down 3.6 percent,

January is not just clearance month anymore. It's winter-season full-price selling, because Christmas and holiday merchandising is really promotional. These days, that's when you see the really deep discounts.

Will the anticipation of more expensive bills hurt holiday sales? I don't think so. I think consumer spending will see more of a marginal change rather than a substantial change, primarily at the lower-income level.

As long as people can find the right merchandise, have a job and borrow a little bit, they are going to go shopping. Overall, the holiday season was good. Retailers who had it all nailed down were the winners.

But higher costs were enough to hit operating income in the quarter, which grew only 7 percent, compared to a 7.4 growth rate for the comparable nine months. Despite these issues, the quarter held up very well and the holiday quarter should hold up nicely,

This holiday season Wal-Mart hasn't been able to differentiate itself from the competition or really take advantage of the early wave of promotional activity.

The holiday is clearly growing in importance for the industry. Halloween is fun, enjoyable and doesn't require a big investment to celebrate. The primary focus is the child and families typically do all they can to make sure the children have fun.