In recent weeks, Macy's has resumed expanding its Backstage off-price chain, following a pause while the department store giant fought through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Since the beginning of April, the company has opened 26 new Backstage stores within full-line Macy's locations. That brings the Backstage store count to an even 250. Another eight new locations are set to open on May 15, putting Macy's close to its target of opening 45 new Backstage stores within Macy's full-line stores in 2021. The retailer also plans to …
Finance
Inflation Worries? Not a Chance!
I feel safe aligning my economic view with that of Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, then with a bunch of traditional, last century economists who define inflation as it was during the most explosive growth period in U.S. history (1950 to 1980). They envision a post-pandemic economic surge, believing that the trillions of dollars fire hosed into the economy to keep it from collapsing will meet head on with consumers' post-pandemic pent-up demand, with trillions in personal savings …
NRF Holiday Forecast at Risk
For the last 25 years, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has kicked off the holiday shopping season in early October with its forecast for holiday retail spending, covering the critical November-December retail sales. This year, however, it waited until the end of November to make its prediction, and as per usual, it was exceedingly optimistic. NRF’s Retail View According to NRF, retail sales will rise between 3.6 percent to 5.2 percent this year for the last two months of the year, excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and …
Beauty’s Shifting M&A Landscape
As a beauty journalist who came of age in the 1990s, I was shocked and a little sad to see that Perricone MD, a proto "doctor brand" that made its debut during that era, recently changed hands for a mere $60M. When unicorns and "near-unicorns" (my very unofficial term for brands approaching the billion-dollar mark) like Morphe, Charlotte Tilbury and Drunk Elephant are fetching $2.2B, $1B and $845M, respectively, it's easy to feel like any majority stake or outright acquisition that doesn't reach at least the $100M mark has fallen …
Heading into the Homestretch, It’s Sycamore by a Mile
During this whirlwind of retail bankruptcies, while the pandemic rages on with no end in sight, it should be a field day for private equity firms, awash in cash, to swoop in like vultures to acquire these bankrupt retailers on the cheap. However, several experts in the space told me that many of them are holding their "powder" (not acquiring) because of the big unknown. That is, without some indication of when the pandemic will end, how it will end and when consumers will feel safe enough to return to physical shopping. What will the ultimate …
Heading into the Homestretch, It’s Sycamore by a MileRead More
What’s Money Got to Do with It?
There are certain commonalities, trends, and uncertainties we should (hopefully) have top of mind as we take this epic journey that increasingly looks to be lasting a while. To set the stage, read this article by John Mauldin, whom I have a lot of respect for. You won't like it -- I don't like it -- but I've never thought it was my job to help you think happy thoughts. John is telling you something important more succinctly than I could (and with great charts!). The 10-Qs and 10-Ks for VF, Deckers, The Buckle, Tilly's, Abercrombie …
J.C. Penney May Survive Covid-19 (For the Wrong Reasons)
The moment of truth is nearing for J.C. Penney. The struggling department store chain faces a July 15 deadline to gain lenders' approval for its bankruptcy reorganization plan and thereby unlock additional bankruptcy funding. Unless two-thirds of its bankruptcy lenders consent to its restructuring plan by then, J.C. Penney will be required to pursue an immediate sale of its assets. That could lead to a liquidation and the effective disappearance of this iconic brand. J.C. Penney's rapid fall from relevance over the past decade, plunging mall …
J.C. Penney May Survive Covid-19 (For the Wrong Reasons)Read More
At What Cost?
Our Covid-19 response -- like virtually all policy -- is being shaped by people who are leading protected lives. They personally have little at stake economically to counter their natural concern that one day they might be accused of having done too little. But sweeping protective measures now in force carry such high costs that we must wonder how deep cost/benefit analysis has been, and how much sensitivity there has been to the lasting damage being inflicted on countless vulnerable lives. Locked Down and Out Our current lockdown was …