Posted on 08/14/2015 7:12:00 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Americans spent more in July than they did in June.
They bought a lot of furniture and cars and spend money in bars and restaurants, according to the latest government report. That's the good news.
But many well-known retailers are struggling.
Macy's and Kohl's both reported sales and earnings this week that missed forecasts. They also issued disappointing guidance. And their stocks sank.
Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren said Wednesday that "throughout the first half of the year, overall consumer demand has been restrained."
Lundgren said the strong dollar continues to hurt the company because tourists are spending less at some of the company's flagship stores.
(Excerpt) Read more at wdsu.com ...
Amazon takes my credit-card points, and has very good prices.
I charge everything, and pay off the bills as soon as they arrive, so I get thousands of points a month.
It’s free stuff for rich people!
Wonder how much the Macy’s/Trump boycott has hurt them.
They carry a lot of the omix-Ada jeep parts for a lower price most of the time over the specialty retailers.
Certainly didn't help.
Kohl's? That's weird. I had to buy some summer clothes and the prices were crazy-low even at the beginning of summer. Don't know how a store can make huge profit with 50% off plus additional discounts on summer clothes at the beginning of summer.
Locals try to stop Big Box retail because it will ruin “mainstreet” (local rent-seeking prop owners).
Now Big Box tries to stop online because it will ruin the new “mainstreet” of Big Box (a new group of rent-seeking owners).
I say to heck with them.
Evolve and compete or die.
Some local shops near me are GREAT and get my dollars when it makes sense. I don’t do the Big Box store thing anymore.
They are essentially warehouses with ZERO support or knowledge of any kind.
I get more from “Online Providers”, a group to which I am proud to belong.
Has Amazon turned a profit yet?
The retail market is changing and it’s not going to be pretty for a lot of retailers.
I seldom set foot in a store these days, other than Home Improvement stores. Even then, I get much from Amazon when I don’t need it right away and the item is “shippable”. Prices and selection are better, fellow consumers’ reviews generally are far superior to the knowledge of the floor salespeople in a retail store. The only real downside is having to wait a couple days to get the product in hand.
I don’t see how retail is ever going to compete with that. The exceptions (but only to a degree) would be clothing (but even that could change quickly if clothing sizes were really standardized), food, and large items that are impractical to ship or need installation.
IMHO, some of this situation is the retailers’ fault(not investing in employees, not reacting to market demands, taking political positions), but part is just changing times and technologies.
Blah and blah.
And they would be complaining about a weak dollar as their costs to import their merchandise would go up.
Perhaps many well known retailers are not providing products and an experience that consumers want. My online vs. brick-and-mortar purchasing decisions are based on a few simple rules: time, price and whether I need to touch a product prior to buying. I buy far more things online.
Three or four years ago, they decided that customer base was no longer hip. So, naturally, they decided they also didn't want women my wife's age working for them even seasonal or part time.
She spent more than half her paycheck on Christmas shopping there. We haven't been back since except to cut through the store because it is now about the easiest place to find parking at the mall.
It isn't very crowded either. But I do have to admit that it looks more hip.
Not so. It depends on who is being harmed. A strong dollar makes our goods more expensive overseas. We sell less in foreign markets and foreign visitors get a worse exchange rate when in our markets. This hurts American goods in the global marketplace and American tourist destinations.
American consumers may take advantage of the favorable exchange rate to purchase from overseas markets and engage in foreign travel. Domestic businesses suffer in comparison.
The net effect can be domestic economic sluggishness depending on the speed and duration of currency inflation.
This is why you see the Chinese devaluing the yuan... the net effect of devaluation can be stimulative.
Kohl's starts out with over-priced merchandise, then discounts the heck out it, much of it though discounts gained by using their credit card. They make their money off the CC interest.
Ain't White Privilege Cool?"
“The idea that a “strong dollar” is harmful is bad economics. “
If the dollar is strong, you can buy less dollars per Euro.
That means less goods sold overseas and to tourists.
Less goods sold, means less production. Less production means less profits means fewer jobs.
What do you think all the hoopla about China devaluations is about.
Yes, once, in Q2 2015. Otherwise, no.
“Kohl’s? That’s weird. I had to buy some summer clothes and the prices were crazy-low even at the beginning of summer. Don’t know how a store can make huge profit with 50% off plus additional discounts on summer clothes at the beginning of summer.”
A little story ... I used to sell software to major retailers. One day, I was visiting with the CIO from a major retailer and he wanted to take me to their new flagship store.
So we were walking around the store and there was a huge table of men’s dress shirts for $47 marked down to $29. I asked him how they could still make money and he told me their actual cost was $7.42. So even at 50% discount, they were still making 400% gross profit.
True story ...
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