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Retail DetailRetail DetailCNBC Reporter Margaret Brennan gives her insight into the retail business Articles
Drink More Champagne to Play Forex Futures?
2007-12-31 15:38:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanMost healthy people do not drink before 5pm. And the age of the three-martini lunch has passed. However, I started this past Friday morning surrounded by champagne bottles at Moet & Chandon's Soho pop-up boutique... Read More Topics:Advertising | Marketing | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Food and Beverage | RetailMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Drink , Champagne , Play , Forex , Futures
Caution: Retail 'Tipping Point' May Be Ahead
2007-12-27 23:09:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanPick a survey, any survey: The range of growth can be whatever you'd prefer when it comes to picking how successful this holiday was for stores. But the point is not whether stores made money; the real question is whether we've reached a tipping point in maxing out that growth rate... Read More Topics:Advertising | Marketing | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Stocks on Sale | Interest Rates | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Costco Wholesale Corporation | Target CorporationMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Tipping Point , Point , Ahead
One Shopping Day 'til Christmas...
2007-12-24 15:33:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanDown to the final 24 hours, more or less, of shopping before Christmas ... We'll get the first reports on how "super" this Super Saturday's sales were when ShopperTrak releases its initial numbers by 3pm ET today Read More Topics:Advertising | Marketing | Interest Rates | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Food and Beverage | RetailMEDIA:VIDEOPermalink More About: Shopping
Chinese "Lead Scare" Not Real Reason for Slow Toy Sales
2007-12-20 20:19:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI'd like to deconstruct the myth that the China lead-contaminated is responsible for the drop off in toy sales this year. Lead-contamination worries or not, parents are still buying toys and kids are still playing with them this season. Read More Topics:Media | Print Media | Advertising | Marketing | Consumers | Retail Sales Sectors:Personal and Household Goods | Media | RetailCompanies:Nintendo Co Ltd Adr | Mattel IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Chinese , Reason , Real , Slow
Web Retailers Race vs. Christmas Clock
2007-12-18 22:33:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanIt's later than you think: Today is the last day to buy online at big box.com stores like Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon in time for regular Christmas delivery. E-commerce is drawing more customers than ever before. Read More Topics:Media | Print Media | Advertising | Marketing | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Stock Buybacks | Stocks on Sale | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Media | RetailCompanies:Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Target Corporation | Macy'sMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Clock , Race , Retailers , Retailer
FedEx, DHL, UPS Hope That Shipping Does NOT Take A Holiday
2007-12-17 14:50:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanEight days left until Christmas and the gift giving season is getting down to the wire. For those of you who did your shopping online this season, the odds are high that those mail-ordered gifts are working their way through shipping facilities today. More than eleven million packages are going to be sorted and pass through FedEx terminals today. Read More Topics:Earnings | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:United Parcel Service Inc | FedEx CorporationMEDIA:PHOTO | VIDEOPermalink More About: Holiday , Hope , Shipping
Retail Sales Numbers: Stop Being "Surprised" By Them
2007-12-14 15:24:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanIf I hear or read another headline that calls November's retail sales results "surprising," I may scream. I am also hereby banning use of the word 'cautious.' Today the Commerce Department reconfirmed what retailers told us all last week. November sales were sweeter than expected. The consumer is still buying cold weather apparel and Christmas presents. Read More Topics:Media | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Interest Rates | Consumers | Retail Sales Sectors:RetailMEDIA:PHOTO | VIDEOPermalink More About: Stop , Numbers , Number
Outlook '08 Predictions: Consumers, Toy Safety, Box Stores
2007-12-13 14:57:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanHoliday 2007 hasn't even happened yet but buyers and retailers are beginning to stock the shelves and clothing racks for 2008. With that in mind, I put together a list of some of the biggest questions that the retail industry is mulling over right now that will affect 2008. Read More Topics:Marketing | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:Saks Incorporated | Best Buy Co Inc | Talbots Inc. | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Macy'sMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Safety , Outlook , Predictions
Christmas Shopping: What's Keeping You From Playing Santa?
2007-12-10 15:35:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanSo the good news is that I'm not alone. I have only made one Christmas gift purchase so far this season. Yes, budgeting is always a big factor in when purchases are made but honestly, I can't say that I'm waiting to get a better deal. My new retail shopping theory involves a demographic argument: unless you have a kid or tons of little young nieces, nephews, cousins, godchildren, etc., shopping early isn't such a high priority. Read More Topics:Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Food and Beverage | RetailCompanies:JC Penney Company Inc | Best Buy Co Inc | Sears Holdings Corp | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Target CorporationMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Shopping , Santa , Christmas shopping
Retailers: Will They "Love" December As Much As November?
2007-12-05 21:13:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanNovember may have been sweeter to stores than many thought. Don't get me wrong--stores aren't going to be AHEAD of plan but it is sounding increasingly like they may NOT miss those meager plans they set for themselves at the beginning of the month. Meeting expectations COULD be a real positive for retail stocks tomorrow. Read More Topics:Advertising | Stock Market | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:Chico's FAS, Inc. | Circuit City Stores Inc | Best Buy Co Inc | Saks Incorporated | Gap Inc | Urban Outfitters, Inc. | Talbots Inc. | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Target Corporation | Macy'sMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Love , Retailers , December , Retailer
Victoria's Secret Post Hits A Nerve With Many Of You
2007-12-04 20:28:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanHeidi, Alessandra, Karolina...at least three women who generate blog responses almost as much as Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott. The other time I remember receiving a flood of heated responses like these were in regard to Wal-Mart's claims that it helps lower consumer prices across the country. Read More Topics:Marketing | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Wal-Mart Stores IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Post , Secret , Hits
Victoria's Secret: Sure, Models Look Good But Here's What's Wrong
2007-11-30 23:35:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanPost an image of scantily clad supermodels, like I'm doing here, or run a video of the same and you are virtually guaranteed to get air time. CNBC will never get tired of airing stories about Victoria's Secret and its iconic runway show. Read More Topics:Media | Advertising | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Good s | RetailCompanies:American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. | JC Penney Company Inc | Limited Brands IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Models , Wrong
Lululemon And CEO's "Lulu" Of A Quarter
2007-11-30 01:00:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanYou heard me rant here on this blog about Lulu lemon failing to answer questions about its Vitasea line and whether or not it truly contains seaweed. They were late in issuing a press release and defending their products but finally, in his first public comments, CEO Bob Meers joined us live on CNBC to defend the athletic wear company. Read More Topics:CEOs and CFOs | Media | Print Media | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Media | RetailMEDIA:VIDEOPermalink More About: Quarter
American Consumers Alive, But Are They Retail "Healthy?"
2007-11-27 18:18:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanAfter spending all of Friday and much of this holiday weekend at the largest mall on the East Coast, I have to say that the holiday traffic wasn't bursting the mall at its seams but it seemed healthy. On Friday alone, the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania, had between 170,000 to 175,000 shoppers walking and shopping its stores. Read More Topics:Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Simon Property Group IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: American , Healthy , Alive
Black Friday: What It Really Tells Us About Consumer
2007-11-21 18:46:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanWill this week tell us anything about the state of the consumer or retail? After all, there is some controversy about just how big Black Friday is in terms of actual dollars spent and in-store traffic levels. Read More Topics:Consumer s | Retail SalesSectors:RetailMEDIA:PHOTO | VIDEOPermalink More About: Tells , Black Friday
"Bad" Black Friday Weather A Good Forecast For Retail?
2007-11-19 17:30:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanFinally! A positive headline about retail: "An Exceptional Black Friday Weekend for Cold Weather Items" is the title of the latest report from Weather Trends International. One thing that's working in favor of retail sales is the weather turning 40 degrees colder midweek throughout the Central U.S. Read More Topics:Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Good s | RetailCompanies:Best Buy Co IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink
Lululemon Responds But Can They Go Beyond A Press Release?
2007-11-16 15:03:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanTwo days after the initial scandal that caused shares to plummet, lululemon just sent out its response via press release at 9 pm ET on Thursday. According to inside sources, board members felt that lulu "should not have let this happen" (the scandal and NY Times quotes from company executives) and said that LULU will "learn from this experience." Read More Topics:Media | Stock Picks | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Media | RetailMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Press Release , Press , Release
Lululemon Shareholders Turning Sour On Stock?
2007-11-15 19:46:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanLululemon shareholders seemed to make lemonade yesterday after that initial sell-off. But on day two of the story, the sentiment seems to have drifted back to sour lemons. Whether it was shortcovering or new money jumping into the market, I'm not sure. Today short sellers are back betting against Lulu's company. Read More Topics:Stock Picks | Stock Market | Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Starbucks CorpPermalink More About: Shareholders
Lululemon: Will They Turn 'Bad' Marketing Story Into Lemonade?
2007-11-14 21:02:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI am sitting at a Starbucks across from Lululemon on the Upper West side of Manhattan. I find this somewhat ironic given that Lululemon has done for athleticwear what Starbucks seems to have done for coffee. No, it didn't just inflate prices and make it yuppie-wear, Lulu glamorized it. Read More Topics:Media | Print Media | Advertising | Marketing | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Media | RetailCompanies:Nike Inc | Starbucks CorpMEDIA:PHOTO | VIDEOPermalink More About: Story , Lemonade , Turn , Nade
Retail Holiday "Gimmicks:" Will They Keep The Grinch Away?
2007-11-12 18:45:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI haven't purchased a single Christmas gift for ANYONE that I know. For me, this may be inexcusable given the amount of time that I spend in malls for work. I'm trying to rein in my spending and apparently I'm in good company. According to the National Retail Federation, more than 70% of consumers have completed only 10% of their holiday shopping. Read More Topics:Advertising | Marketing | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:Circuit City Stores Inc | JC Penney Company Inc | Kohls Corp | J Crew Group Inc | Best Buy Co Inc | Talbots Inc. | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Target Corporation | Macy'sMEDIA:PHOTO | VIDEOPermalink More About: Holiday , Gimmicks , The G
Retail Sales: October "Cruelest" Month Or Can It Get Worse?
2007-11-08 17:29:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanOctober was not kind to Wal-Mart even with the promotional pricing and marketing campaign that the world's biggest retailer has been pushing. The only sales growth at Wal-Mart stores was at its Sam's Club division (+2.7%) which helped boost the overall Wal-Mart comp to a meager .4% gain. Read More Topics:Stock Market | Consumers | Retail Sales Sectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:Limited Brands Inc | J Crew Group Inc | Circuit City Stores Inc | Best Buy Co Inc | Saks Incorporated | Zumiez Inc | Walgreen Co | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Target CorporationMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Month , Mont
Same Store Sales In Warm October: "Chill Factor" For Investors?
2007-11-06 15:37:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanTo say that investors are nervous about October's same store sales results would be the understatement of the year. Just this morning, Morgan Stanley put out a note downgrading many apparel companies to "cautious" status and stating that "we expect that "60% of major retailers to post down margins in 2008, with EPS growth of 9% vs. Street at 14%." Read More Topics:Stock Picks | Stock Market | Consumers | Retail Sales Sectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Store , Investors , Chill , Factor
Out Of The Office Till Tuesday
2007-11-05 20:10:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI didn't post Friday as I am out of the office until tomorrow. But I'll have some more posts for you on Tuesday . See you then. Read More Permalink More About: Office , The Office
Special Assignment For Today
2007-11-01 16:48:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI am out on special assignment today for the TV side of CNBC, so I more than likely won't have a chance to post anything today. But please check back tomorrow for more posts. See you then. Read More Permalink More About: Today , Special
Wal-Mart's Early Price Cuts: Panic Move Or Smart Biz?
2007-10-31 21:45:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanCut early, be aggressive and roll out gradually. That's Wal-Mart's spacer price strategy for the holidays. And the marketing team at Wal-Mart follows that dictate when it unveils some big ticket price cuts this Friday--more than 2 weeks ahead of "Black Friday," which has traditionally been the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Read More Topics:Advertising | Marketing | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Food and Beverage | RetailCompanies:Best Buy Co Inc | BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Costco Wholesale Corporation | Target CorporationPermalink More About: Smart , Price , Move , Early , Cuts
Saks On The Acquisition Block?
2007-10-30 21:51:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanFashion parties are inherently uncomfortable, well-dressed and sometimes awkward events. They can also be a lot of fun for anyone who enjoys getting dressed up having cocktails and looking at beautiful objects/designs. When fashion intersects with retail (the business of selling these sometimes artistic/sometimes commercially minded clothing creations), my job occasionally involves attending some of these parties. Read More Topics:CEOs and CFOs | Mergers & Acquisition s | Private Equity | Media | Print Media | Stock Picks | Stock Market | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | Media | RetailCompanies:Saks IncorporatedPermalink More About: Block
"Mall Rats" On Endangered Species List?
2007-10-29 16:55:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanSo you've heard all the pundits/writers/retail investors (including me) talk about traffic declining at malls across the country. While that is widely read as a sign that shoppers are heading to the malls less and shopping less frequently, I had an interesting conversation with an analyst who thinks that might not actually be the case. Read More Topics:Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Simon Property Group Inc | General Growth Properties, Inc.MEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: List , Mall , Endangered Species , Endangered , Rats
Retailers: 'Must Haves' Missing From Stores
2007-10-26 15:36:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanI feel a bit like I'm on a news version of some struggling teen pop singer tour (don't they always include malls?) Lately I have been spending a lot of time in stores. Yesterday it was Costco in Clifton, NJ. In the past month work has sent me to: a New York City Best Buy, a Miami-area Wal-Mart, two malls in New Jersey and one on Long Island. That's just a few. Read More Topics:Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:Personal and Household Goods | RetailCompanies:Wal-Mart Stores Inc | Best Buy Co Inc | Costco Wholesale CorporationMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Missing , Retailers , Aves , Retailer
Joe Torre And Wal-Mart's Lee Scott: Parallel Lines?
2007-10-22 19:28:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanThe world's largest retailer has spawned this blog's biggest response ever! The anti-Wal-Mart emails (some 655, almost all I would say from Wal-Martwatch.com readers) keep pouring into the Retail Detail inbox. We'll continue to post your thoughts and responses so keep them coming. I've yet to hear from any on the pro Wal-Mart side. Read More Topics:CEOs and CFOs | Consumers | Retail SalesSectors:RetailCompanies:Target Corporation | Wal-Mart Stores IncMEDIA:PHOTO Permalink More About: Joe Torre , Scott , Lines
Wal-Mart Study And My Blog Stir Up The Action
More articles from this author:2007-10-19 23:36:00 Posted By:Margaret BrennanWow--I've never had the type or volume of response to a blog posting as I got today! Mention the world's largest retailer and readers and TV viewers take notice. Suggest or discuss whether Wal-Mart has actually had a positive impact on competitive pricing and inflation and you get more than 200 blog responses! At least I did. Read More Topics:Retail Sales | ConsumersSectors:RetailCompanies:Wal-Mart Stores IncPermalink More About: Action , Study , Blog 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
