Todd Slater Quotes (11 Quotes)

While we think the new management team is focused on reinventing the company, the first quarter is off to a hazy start and prospects for the rest of 2003 look even fuzzier.

I think because of the easy comparisons, apparel has an opportunity to stand out through the rest of the quarter compared to some of the other categories.

The weekly updates were a little tedious and not terribly relevant. They generally don't measure trends very well.

Purchasing patterns have been changing for a long time. It used to be you bought for Christmas when you bought for back-to-school. Today, there's no reason to buy ahead of your need when you can buy it when you need it at a better price.

The bottom line at Gap is that despite egregious merchandising, the power of the brand enabled it to clear product at more favorable margin rates than expected.

I think it will be successful initially because it's new and different. But long-term, I don't think the business has a great chance of succeeding in its current incarnation -- not from a design point of view but from a merchandising point of view. I don't know that the merchandise outperformed the competition.

Target recently generated its highest comparable sales in 20 quarters, up 6.6 percent in the first quarter. However, this could represent a high-water mark as sales seem to be slowing and comparisons become much more difficult in the back-half of the year.

The company is spending like it's 1999. While the consumer is in a state of partial paralysis, this may not be the best time to put the expense pedal to the metal.

Clearly the economy is not helping. Consumers are relatively strapped, and they're focusing more of their time and attention on the big discount days, like black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and today.

April should recover nicely benefiting from more seasonal weather and pent-up demand.

For consumers, it's a good time. Procrastinators will be rewarded.