THE  

MONITOR

Keeping Our Finger On The Pulse Of The Retail Industry

Volume V, Issue 12

December  2007

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Retailers Post Mixed Sales in November
Sales up 4.0%
Thomson Financial, which compares monthly results at 43 of the nation's largest retail chains, said total overall November same-store sales rose 4.0 percent, better than a 2.5 percent gain for the same period a year ago.

Despite a big Thanksgiving weekend, holiday shopping season got off to an uneasy start. Consumers took advantage of the big discounts that weekend, and then pulled back, leaving retailers with mixed sales results for November. According to a tally by Thomson Financial, only seven merchants beat sales estimates, while 19 missed expectations.

With early morning specials on Black Friday, warehouse club operators such as Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., were the winners, but many apparel stores including Limited Brands Inc. and teen retailer Wet Seal Inc. had disappointing results.

Since there was an additional week after Thanksgiving, more sales fell into the month of November compared to December last year. This helped department stores like Macy’s, who report strong sales.

Some of the successful companies for the month of November include:

Wal-Mart - same-store sales rose 1.5%, beating the 1.2% estimate

Costco - same-store sales rose 9%
 
Nordstrom - rebounded with an 8.7% gain in same-store sales, better than the 3.7% estimate

Macy's - same-stores sales rose 13.4%, beating the 8.2% estimate

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. - same-store sales increase of 2.3

Aeropostale’s - same-store sales climbed 6.6%

Gap North America - sales rose 1%

Ross Stores Inc. - same-store sales rose 3%

Those companies that had a decrease in same- store sales include:

Limited - 7% decline in same-store sales

Wet Seal's - same-store sales declined 1.7%

Banana Republic North America - fell 3%

Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, said the fact that Thanksgiving fell early this year - forcing retailers to kick off their promotions earlier - salvaged sales at many retailers last month but at the cost of stealing sales from December.

"Department stores are especially vulnerable to this calendar shift," Perkins said. "Watch out for warnings from Macy's and others."

Black Friday Weekend Traffic up 4.8 Percent as Consumers Shop for Smaller Ticket Items 

If there were any doubts that consumers would be shopping in full force over Black Friday, they have finally been put to rest. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey, more than 147 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday weekend, up a solid 4.8% from last year.

Consumers spent an average of $347.44, down 3.5 percent from last year, but still up an incredibly strong 14.8 percent from 2005. Retailers made up for the lower average expenditure with increased traffic.

“While last year showed a greater emphasis on high-definition televisions, this year consumers were focused on lower priced door-busters like digital photo frames, laptops and cashmere sweaters,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Though Black Friday was a complete success for many retailers, the results of the holiday season won’t be determined until the last two weeks of December.”

Black Friday was marked with retailers opening their doors earlier than ever, with some choosing to start their sales as early as midnight. This strategy appeared to pay off as 14.3 percent of consumers were out shopping before 4:00 AM, compared to 12.4 percent last year. Men once again proved to be the better Black Friday customer with a greater emphasis on door-buster specials in the consumer electronics category. They outspent the women $393.63 to $303.95.

Though discounters saw a dip in traffic last year, they rebounded nicely this year as 55.1 percent of shoppers visited discount stores, up from 49.6 percent in 2006. Consumers also shopped in traditional department stores (38.7%), specialty retailers (42.3%) and online (31.6%).

Most Popular Items Purchased
Clothing/Accessories 46.8%
Books/CDs/DVDs/Video Games 41.7%
Consumer Electronics 35.7%
Toys 28.2%
Gift Cards 21.0%
The NRF continues to project that holiday sales will rise 4.0 percent this year to $474.5 billion.

Cyber Monday Shopping Starts with a Bang
If the traffic on CyberMonday.com is any indication, shoppers have returned in full force from their Thanksgiving holidays and are looking online for great deals.

“Online retailers stepped up their promotions on Cyber Monday this year, and millions of consumers responded,” said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org. “If there was any doubt before this, this year it is certain: Cyber Monday is a permanent fixture on the retail calendar.”

Cyber Monday, a term coined by Shop.org in 2005, began after online retailers noticed a trend of people shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Since then, consumers have flooded websites on Cyber Monday and come to expect robust promotions and specials that day.

According to a study conducted by BIGresearch for Shop.org, 72 million consumers shopped online this year on Cyber Monday.

NRF 2007 Holiday Survival Kit - Part Three of Three

The Holiday hustle and bustle is upon us as the excitement is increasing to get all the plans in place, finish Holiday shopping, attend parties and enjoy the festivities.  The final segment of the three-part Survival Kit is complete and soon we will be thinking back on the Holidays with fond memories to carry forward. 

Some facts from the 2006 season:

2006 Holiday Sales by Sector (in millions)
   Sector       Holiday Sales  % of Annual Sales
 During Holidays
Discount Stores    $30,837  23.45%
Department Stores   $53,144 24.37%
Clothing & Accessories Stores  $51,235 23.86%
Jewelry Stores   $  9,382 31.17%
Sporting Goods, Book, Hobby & Music Stores $20,231 23.20%
Electronics & Appliance Stores    $25,959  23.82%
Furniture & Home Furnishings Stores      $23,059     19.03%
Warehouse Clubs & Superstores    $60,575 20.33%
Building Equipment & Supplies Stores  $53,543  14.92%
Food & Beverage Stores   $97,447   17.99%
Electronics Shopping & Mail Order Houses  $37,975   20.82%
Health & Personal Care Stores    $40,310    17.98%
Holiday Payment Methods Consumers Used Most Often by Year
 

2002 

2003

 2004

  2005 

2006
Cash   33%  27%  26% 28% 24%
Credit Card 27% 30% 29% 28% 31%
Debit/Check Card  27%  31%  35% 35%  39%
Check 13% 12% 10% 9% 6%
Top 2006 Holiday TV Ads
  1. Target
  2. Wal-Mart
  3. Best Buy
  4. Macy’s
  5. JCPenney
  6. Big Lots
  7. Kmart
  8. Old Navy
  9. Kohl’s
  10. Gap

A Happy & Healthy Holiday Season to ALL!

Movers & Shakers

People you know, who are on the go…
This monthly installment to The Hart Monitor includes executive moves within the retail industry as reported in publications such as WWD, Hoover's, and various other sources.
Central Garden & Pet Company:
Chairman William Brown has grown to the additional executive role of CEO at lawn and pet supplies maker Central Garden & Pet after the resignation of Glenn Novotny.

CSK Auto Corporation:
Auto parts retailer CSK Auto has been shopping for a CFO since June and has hired ShopKo Stores executive Jim Constantine as EVP and CFO, effective November 19.

CVS Caremark, Corp.:
CVS Caremark Corp. on Wednesday named president and CEO Thomas M. Ryan as chairman to succeed Mac Crawford, who is retiring.

Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.:
Eddie Bauer Holdings bolstered its operational ranks with 3 new executive appointments: Freya R. Brier as Sr. VP general counsel & secretary, Marv Toland as Sr. VP and CFO, and Ronn Hall as Sr. VP of sourcing & chain supply.

Estee Lauder Co.:
Joe Spellman has been named interim general manager for Tom Ford Beauty and Caroline Geerlings will be senior vice president and general manager for Prescriptives Worldwide effective November 26. Andrea Robinson has resigned as president of the two businesses at Estee Lauder Co.
 
Haggar Clothing Co.:
Former VF executive Terry Lay has suited up as CEO at men’s apparel maker Haggar Clothing; he succeeded Jim Lewis, who resigned at the end of his two-year contract.

Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.:
At department store operator The Neiman Marcus Group, Karen Katz (who is president and CEO of the Neiman Marcus Stores division) has moved up the escalator to the additional title of EVP. Also, SVP and CFO James Skinner was promoted to EVP and CFO.

Sharper Image Corp.:
Former Best Buy VP Joyce Maruniak has unplugged and restarted at gadget retailer Sharper Image as SVP Operations.

Shopko Stores:
Shopko Stores said Monday that W. Paul Jones has been appointed president and chief merchandising officer for the discount department-store chain. Jones will be responsible for the direction of all merchandising and marketing activities, effective November 14.

Talbots, Inc.:
Talbots Inc. on Tuesday named Philip H. Kowalczyk COO, effective immediately. Kowalczyk previously was president of the company's J. Jill group.
Every issue of The Hart Monitor will contain a 'TIPS' section of helpful information regarding Inventory or Loss Prevention for retailers, including some of the industry's "Best Practices."  If you have any Inventory or LP tips that you'd like to share, please CLICK HERE

    

Count seasonal merchandise as it’s packed away…

When seasonal merchandise is moved off the sales floor at the end of the season, it’s important to plan how this merchandise will be accounted for.  By having a “Packaway” inventory system in place, you can scan and count the merchandise as it is being packed away - in cartons, on rolling racks, etc.

That inventory data will update your perpetual files, give you immediate shrink information, improve your merchandising efforts, provide you with useful control reports and take a chunk out of your wall-to-wall physical inventory effort (that’s right – the packaway data files can be added to your inventory at year end without having to individually count all of that merchandise again).

Hart Systems helps many retailers perform seasonal partial counts.  For example, a Cards & Gifts chain counts their Halloween merchandise as it’s packed away, a Sporting Goods chain counts their Skis, an Apparel chain counts their seasonal basics, a Party store chain counts their greeting cards, etc…

For more information on Packaway inventories, and Hart’s customized rental solutions, please Click Here or send an e-mail to TellMeMore@hartsystems.com, and type “Packaway” into the subject box.

To find out more about our customized inventory preparation solutions for rent, please call us or Click Here to e-mail us at TellMeMore@hartsystems.com.

HART SYSTEMS The Self-Inventory Experts 

To learn more about how we can help you achieve your physical inventory goals, please call us at 800-252-2818, click here -Tell Me More- to send an e-mail, or visit our website at http://www.hartsystems.com/.

To view a previous Hart Monitor, click September, October, November

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© 2007 Hart Systems, Inc.

Hart Quote !!!

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.”

Tom Peters, (M.B.A., Ph. D.) is an American writer and expert on business management practices, best-known for co-writing the classic book, In Search of Excellence, with Robert H. Waterman, Jr. leading expert on personal time management.

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