- 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
- Tuesday's ISM in Focus While Bulls Call for Turn in Dollar
- GE, Vivendi Agree to Value NBCU Stake at $5.8 Billion
- White House to Crank Up Pressure on Mortgage Industry
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- Dubai World to Restructure About $26 Billion of Debt
- Cramer: Dubai Can’t Sink These 6 Dividend Stocks
- Good Sign for the Economy: 'Greed' Makes a Comeback
- Bove: 26 Banks May Need To Raise More Capital
- The World's Biggest Debtor Nations
MOST SHARED
- Timeless and Time-Tested Warren Buffett Watch Predictions
- Goldman Sachs Party Ban: No Gatherings of 12 or More
- Should Homeowners Be Able To Walk Away From Mortgage?
- Dubai World Set to Restructure About $26 Billion of Total Debt
- Good Sign for the Economy: 'Greed' Makes a Comeback
- Bove: 26 Banks May Need To Raise More Capital
- Notre Dame Fires Charlie Weis After 5 Seasons
- Blue Nile CEO: 'We're Having the Best Cyber Monday Ever'
- Oil Demand Sees Year-Over-Year Rise, First Since 2007
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
ABOUT THIS BLOG
|
This blog will look at the winners and losers in the retail space. Who has the right strategy to capture consumer dollars? It also will look for trends in consumer spending and how that will impact the economy.
Text Size 
 |
] . Short interest in the stock is at 21 percent of the float right now and today's rally may have something to do with short covering. That said, investors who subscribe to Credit Suisse analyst Paul Lejeuz's thinking (his rating is outperform) would say that this yoga wear company has earned the right to a rally.
Understanding Lululemon's fourth quarter earnings success requires walking into a store and seeing their product firsthand. I wouldn't expect relatively expensive workout clothes (average ticket is $100) to be able to sell during this consumer slowdown. The consumers' hesitation or inability to spend on discretionary items is a problem for many stores out there.
But Lululemon managed to post fourth quarter earnings of 21 cents per share (versus the 19 cents per share that Wall Street expected) up from just a penny a share during the same quarter last year.
The company's decision to pull out of Japan seems to be grabbing headlines but the comment that grabbed my attention was company CEO Bob Meers' mention that the company spent way more on freight costs than they expected. Why? Stores were running out of product!
Yes air-freight charges hurt margins and added to expenses, but here's the point: Lulu is able to sell pricey product at a time when consumers are cutting back on clothing, shifting to generic brand groceries and trading down to warehouses to do their shopping. Clearly a sign that if merchandising is strong, this niche market can buck the consumer trend.
Anyhow, check out my interview with current CEO Meers and incoming CEO Christine Day at 3:50 pm ET on the "Closing Bell" this afternoon. The timing of Meers' scaled back role surprised some. He'll step down in June and hand over management to the former Starbucks alum Day.
Let me know what you think of the interview! After the show, I'll post the interview segments that didn't make air right here on this blog.
Questions? Comments?
- 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