Another Reason To Run...

From retail stocks.The natural squabbles that arise in crisis are starting to play themselves out. However, this one is huge. Primarily because it deals with what has already happened, as well as the future.A little known side of retail are the guarantees that vendors make with large stores for their profit margins. Retailers are more likely to buy more...

Best of December Windows

Tiffany - North Michigan AvenueSomehow, every month, Tiffany manages to pack more punch in their little 24" x 16" windows than most others get out of space 10-20 times in size.Always different, always new and forward and always, ALWAYS brand worthy, meaning it meets the standard of "wow" Tiffany customers anticipate.Take a look (click images for better deta...

Home Alone

From my inbox 12/30/08:I cannot, for the life of me, ever remember a furniture store doing "additional" percentages off  on clearance. Usually it is a straight mark, with prices reflected on the ticket.One thing that has always worked for the home market, is really working against it right now. That thing is long leads on delivery. When you ordered a sofa...

It Begins!!!

From my 12/28/09 inbox:There is no reason to panic, this is all expected...if you have been following the blog, that ...

Thinning Profits (and the Herd!)

The following are photos from my monthly walk along Michigan Avenue, Rush and Oak Streets. This two mile stretch has every store, covering every niche, in the entirety of the retail marketplace. What I decided to do is document what I saw, where I saw it and, just to get 2009 on everyone's mind, share what I think the fate of the particular retailer holds in...

Mail Dominance

I thought I might share a few images from my inbox this morning. I expect this to be the norm going forward, not the exception.I think everyone should sign up for e-mail alerts from their favorite retailers. Reason being, many of my favorites do not advertise in traditional (newspapers, magazines, televisions) manners to keep their costs down. Also, they are...

Numbers Start To Trickle...

Retailers will not be forced to share Holiday numbers until the 7th of January, or so. However, the analyst's numbers have already started breaking, and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!Must read article from the Wall Street Journal HERE.This came in very late last night on Christmas Day, so I knew the news would be bad. The numbers actually play out in line with...

Merry Christmas, To All

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Crystal Meth(od)

Each year, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, an annual ritual plays out. While bells toll, adults gather around the fire and children's imagination run wild with thoughts of what might be under the tree.....The 24th and 25th are notorious dumping grounds for massively important news stories, because everyone knows we do not read the paper on these days....

Topical Depression

"Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to."-Mark Twain (Following the Equator)While studying the Great Depression over the last 16 months in anticipation of the collapse of our financial markets, I have, for the first time, been exposed to hundreds of photographs from the late-1920's and early-1930's.In seeing just how abject basic life was for most...