Macy’s Reignites Retail Worries

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I meant to post this yesterday.

Macy’s Reignites Retail Worries

Department-store chain posts worst quarterly sales since recession; stock plunges 15%

By Suzanne Kapner
[e-mail]

Updated May 11, 2016 8:39 p.m. ET

Macy’s Inc. set off fresh fears about the health of the U.S. retail sector, after the country’s largest department-store chain reported its worst quarterly sales since the recession. ... The company’s poor results and downbeat comments Wednesday triggered a selloff across apparel makers, mall owners, luxury brands and rival chains. Macy’s shares had their biggest drop since 2008.

“We are not counting on the consumer to spend more,” Chief Executive Terry Lundgren said Wednesday. With saving rates high, wages growing and employment data steady, Macy’s executives were at a loss to explain why consumers weren’t spending in its stores. “We’re, frankly, scratching our heads,” said Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet.

America’s shift to online shopping and fast-fashion chains is squeezing Macy’s and its peers, which have responded by closing weaker locations and investing in e-commerce. But the moves haven’t been enough to counter weak demand. ... Teen retailer Aéropostale Inc. and Sports Authority Inc. have filed for bankruptcy this year. Struggling apparel chain Gap Inc. had its credit rating cut to junk status Wednesday.
....

Macy’s, whose shares tumbled 15% Wednesday, is the first major retailer to disclose results for the start of the year. Kohl’s Corp., Nordstrom Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. are expected to face similar challenges when they report this week.

[Nay]

1. I've said this for years as a shopper for business casual clothing -- clothing

for the past 10 or 15 years has been UGLY, made of CHEAP MATERIAL, and has terrible FIT. You would think that manufacturers would be able to figure this out. Consumers have. You know where I shop? Thrift stores.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Yeah, me too.

Penney's got some good press in this thread:

JCPenney Tumbles Amid Report Company Is 'Taking Emergency Measures To Stay Afloat'

[Nay]

3. Oh, yeah. Before I retired 3 years ago, I often shopped at Penney's and

Dillard's for my conservative business casual clothing. In fact, I just went to Penney's to get some jeans and found 2 great pairs. This last time I was there, the store looked like it had been cleaned up, rearranged, and filled in with merchandise, unlike the last time I had been in, when it looked like a bomb hit it. The bomb was their idiot CEO Johnson, of course. I actually hoped they were recovering from his idiocy, but maybe not. Penney's has always been my go-to store for kid's clothes, purses, my clothes, etc.

As for Kohl's, I used to work there many years ago. Nearly from the beginning their clothing was just . . . ODD. Strange patterns, icky colors, nothing went together if you were so crazy as to be looking for a top-and-pants outfit, etc. Except for some of the Croft & Barrow summer and winter tops, this is still the case. I do buy Croft & Barrow, but for several years some of their tops were so thin that they didn't even last 2 months - holes wore in them and they bagged and sagged immediately. Now I have to evaluate each pattern to see if that pattern was made of decent material. There will be shelves of tops, some of which were obviously made of crap, others made of decent fabric, all under the Croft & Barrow label. They source them from every cheap place imaginable but seem to be unable to reject crap at the buyer level so their stores can have consistency in their label. It really hurts Kohl's to let this go on.

I shop in thrift stores and often find Croft & Barrow tops that have lasted through many washings and are made well. I bought one just a few days ago that is just perfect. If wholesale buyers would start rejecting crap and demanding their money back, this shit would stop. They are only shooting themselves in the foot.

[sense]

4. So, so true. Absolute crap.