When it comes to inventories heading into holiday during a recession, less is definitely more. Here are the names with the biggest and least margin risk.
Yeah, business stinks – we all know that. But it’s times like these that separate the winners from the losers. Let’s take a quick look at the standouts over the past quarter in managing inventories relative to sales. You don’t need to be a retail genius to know that a lean sales/inventory spread (sales growth > inventory growth) sets up for a positive gross margin event in 4Q – well needed in this climate. Lululemon, UnderArmour, Liz Claiborne, Timberland and Ralph Lauren are my favorites in that context. On the flip side, watch out for expectations to be in synch for names like Abercrombie, Volcom, Skechers, J Crew, DSW and Brown Shoe.
Yeah, business stinks – we all know that. But it’s times like these that separate the winners from the losers. Let’s take a quick look at the standouts over the past quarter in managing inventories relative to sales. You don’t need to be a retail genius to know that a lean sales/inventory spread (sales growth > inventory growth) sets up for a positive gross margin event in 4Q – well needed in this climate. Lululemon, UnderArmour, Liz Claiborne, Timberland and Ralph Lauren are my favorites in that context. On the flip side, watch out for expectations to be in synch for names like Abercrombie, Volcom, Skechers, J Crew, DSW and Brown Shoe.
