There's no question that competition in retailing is rampant and out of hand. It's getting increasingly difficult for companies to keep their heads above water. That's why the industry is getting into gear for more merger activity.
More Quotes from Kurt Barnard:
Most retail sales were relatively decent, but were achieved with the help of deep markdowns which will show up as heavy pressure on gross margins, and that is going to be reflected in the earnings,Kurt Barnard
However, retailers shouldn't break out the champagne yet, ... The rebates will have a very modest effect on spending. With a 6.4 percent unemployment rate, there are millions of people in the country with no income except for unemployment and welfare benefits. Millions more are on long-term unemployment, those that simply have stopped looking for work.
Kurt Barnard
I don't quite understand what the synergy is between the two companies, ... Boise makes paper and OfficeMax sells it -- that's obvious. But Boise hasn't been doing well, either. The real question is, does Boise understand retailing We'll see if this marriage is made in heaven or in hell.
Kurt Barnard
The bigger it gets, the smaller the percentage growth will be. Let's say that when you add 10 new stores to 100 stores, you grow the business 10 percent. When you add 10 stores to 3,000 stores, the growth isn't obvious.
Kurt Barnard
Everybody is worried about a soft landing for the economy and a contraction of consumer spending. And come Christmas it will be far less exciting than a year ago. The high cost at the gas pump is beginning to take its toll and for a lot of families spending an extra 20-to-25 a month on gasoline means spending that much less on stores.
Kurt Barnard
A terrible problem for retailers is that most stores are evoking yawns from consumers, instead of excitement. Retailers just can't keep making the mistake of taking customers for granted by selling ho-hum kind of merchandise. Consumers are looking for unusual and exciting products and they're not finding them.
Kurt Barnard
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