- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- We're Approaching a Market Bubble: Portfolio Manager
- Hershey Shares: What Options Are Saying
- Nov. 30: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Why Careful Shoppers Are Great for the Box Office
- Blue Nile CEO: 'We're Having the Best Cyber Monday Ever'
- Best Online Retailers to Buy Now: Internet Analyst
- ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue: A Financial Success
- Cyber Monday: The Last Vestige of Dotcom Hype
- China Hires Foreigners to Manage Forex Reserves
- Bank of Japan Offers Liquidity at Emergency Meeting
- Cutting Jobless Will Take Time: White House's Summers
- GE, Vivendi Agree to Value NBCU Stake at $5.8 Billion
- Manufacturing in Focus as Bulls Call for Turn in Dollar
- Euro Zone Manufacturing Grows Faster Than Forecast
- Arrest Imminent in Florida Ponzi Case: Report
- Cramer: Dubai Can’t Sink These 6 Dividend Stocks
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
MOST SHARED
- Timeless and Time-Tested Warren Buffett Watch Predictions
- Good Sign for the Economy: 'Greed' Makes a Comeback
- Dubai World Set to Restructure About $26 Billion of Total Debt
- Dubai Stocks Could Fall a Further 30%: Charts
- Dubai Markets Open Sharply Lower for Second Day
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- Notre Dame Fires Charlie Weis After 5 Seasons
- Nov. 30: Unusual Volume Leaders
- What to Expect from Cyber Monday
- Bove: 26 Banks May Need To Raise More Capital
Text Size 
Leon Nicholas, principal of the consumer goods and retail group at Global Insight joined CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” to share his insights on the retail sector in the upcoming back-to-school season.
 |
Rusty Kennedy / AP Nicholas predicted slower growth in back to school retail sales |
“We will see slower growth,” predicted Nicholas, due to inflation concerns, housing mess, volatile gas prices and despair around Iraq. “These will hit consumer confidence.”
Although such factors may not directly impact student and parents’ buying habits, it will still have influence on discretionary matters such as accessories for electronics.
Nicholas said that Wal-Mart’s [WMT
Loading...
()
] approach to cut prices by 10-15% on staple products such as pens and notebooks is a tactic they’ve put in place because “other strategies have not been working.”
He believed that this was an opportunity for Wal-Mart to fall back on their traditional area of strength -- low prices -- to allow them to use it as a leverage to draw customers into their stores.
The hope of Wal-Mart is that people will buy other products such as backpacks, electronics and apparel while they are there.
Nicholas concluded that although Wal-Mart has always done well with low prices, “this may be a sign that the "Wal-Mart era of efficiency" has run its course.” He wondered if there is anything else they can do, or if "this is the end of "Wal-Mart era retailing.""
- Ever wished your cab driver would stop chatting and just get to where you're going? Well, that moment is closer than ever.
- UPS is giving its customers the option to offset its carbon emissions when sending a package.
- Romania's presidential campaign has been rocked by a video that may show the president striking a 10-year-old boy.
- Raising alligators is hard work, and the fickle taste of rich consumers has just made it much harder, says the NY Times.
- A recent issue of ESPN Magazine was one of its top sellers ever, and it only took scantily clad athletes to make it happen.
- The continued real estate boom in China is partially fueled by a generational flood of newlyweds.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes