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Signs of Doom

Consumer Price Index Down 1% - Largest Monthly Decrease in 60 Years

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 1.0% in October, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor reported. The October level of 216.573 (1982-84=100) was 3.7% higher than in October 2007.

The October 1.0% decline was the largest one-month decrease in CPI-U since publication of seasonally adjusted changes began in...
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Home Depot, Lowe’s Report Sinking Profits

The home improvement sector - one of the first to feel the bite of the downturned economy - continues to suffer from lower demand for home products as consumer spending nears a freeze, writes MarketWatch.

Home Depot, the biggest home improvement retailer, reported a 31% drop in third-quarter net income, from $1.09 billion ($0.60/share) in 3Q07 to $756 million ($0.45/share). Overall, sales fell...
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Earnings Fall below Target at No. 2 Discounter

Target has lost the battle for the title of No. 1 discount retailer in the US - Wal-Mart took point long ago. But as third-quarter financial results roll in, it is becoming even more clear that the gap between the two is widening.

Hurt by both the difficult retail environment and its struggling credit card unit, Target reported total revenue of $15.11 billion, a mere 2% rise from Q3 last year...
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JCPenney, Nordstrom Q3 Profits Plunge

JCPenney Co. reported a 52% plunge in profits during the third quarter ended Nov. 1 as net earnings totaled just $124 million ($0.56 cents/share), down from $261 million ($1.17/share) in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 9% to $4.32 billion from $4.73 billion in 3Q07, reports the AP (via Forbes.com).

The company attributed the loss to the consumer-spending cutback that has been affecting...
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Retail Sales Fall 2.8% in October

Plummeting sales in the automobile sector (-5.5%) and falling gas prices dragged down retail sales in October 2.8% from the previous month and 4.1% year-over-year, Reuters reports.

It is the largest decline since the the US Commerce Department began measuring monthly data in 1992, and the fourth straight month of declining sales - following a respective dip of 0.8% and 1.3% dip in August and...
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Returns on the Rise, Retailers Loosen Policies

Consumers are expected to return a record $219 billion of merchandise this year, with $47.1 billion of it coming from holiday purchases, according to the National Retail Federation’s return fraud survey (pdf).

The returned merchandise is projected to be 8.7% of total sales (vs. 7.3% in 2007) and could go as high as 10% during the holiday season.

Retailers depending on holiday purchases to lift...
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More Bankruptcies: National Wholesale Liquidators, Harold’s

Discount retailer National Wholesale Liquidators and upscale clothing chain Harold’s have both filed for Chapter 11 protection.

National Wholesale Liquidators, founded in 1984, is a privately held company that sells housewares and electronics at discounted and wholesale prices. It has more than 50 stores - many of which are in the Mid-Atlantic region - and offers more than 120,000 items...
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Best Buy Cuts Holiday Forecast

Best Buy Co. is predicting that profit and sales will fall more than expected - with same store sales down as much as 15% - during the upcoming holiday season, writes MediaBuyerPlanner.

The holidays may possibly be the worst in at least 23 years, and Best Buy can’t adjust fast enough to maintain earnings momentum for this year, says CEO Brad Anderson (via Bloomberg).

Colin McGranahan, an...
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Circuit City Bankruptcy Sends Landlords Reeling

Circuit City’s bankruptcy filing is causing concern among US shopping center and mall property owners as they face the prospect of every Circuit City store turning into vacant space, Reuters reports.

Fortunately for them, the threat is not terribly immediate. The No. 2 consumer electronic retailer will continue to operate through the rest of the year, thanks to $1.1 billion of...
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Retail Container Traffic in Steady Decline

Major US retail container ports handled 1.33 million Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEU) in September, down nearly 10% from Sept. ‘07, according to the monthly Port Tracker report National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight.

October was estimated at at 1.36 million TEU, which would make it 2008’s peak shipping month, but would still be a 5.7% decrease in volume from Oct. ‘07. (Last year’s...
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