After Christmas Sales Astound in 2010

There's Nothing Left!

Retailers got you figured out, as the latest same-store sales data covering the week after Christmas showed impressive growth, despite the massive blizzard that buried the Northeastern US. Learn about what happened last week, and what to look forward to in this report.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: NYSE: XRT, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: C, NYSE: WFC)

After Christmas Sales Astound in 2010

Weekly same-store sales, as reported by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in conjunction with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), came in astoundingly well. The week after Christmas, after all, did include a blizzard that walloped the population-heavy Northeastern US.

The week after Christmas offers retailers their last chance to unload left-over inventory, and so post-Christmas sales are used to pull shoppers in and push sales to those who are using gift cards or returning unwanted items. Thus, it is a busy shopping period.

For the week ended January 1, sales increased 0.4% against the immediately preceding period. That's quite impressive against an especially challenging shopping period that included the national holiday of Christmas Eve.

Burdened by blizzard, crafty retailers again found ways to outsmart Americans and get them to spend money. It's official, retailers have figured you out, perhaps with teams of psychologists and marketers pouring over a vast database revealing your individual vulnerabilities and placing tailored advertisements on the websites you naively peruse.

The Christmas week, or the period before last, produced growth of 1.0%, and so any growth at all over that period is impressive; but with a blizzard in the mix, it's actually scary to me. I mean really, are you a robot programmed to spend on the broadcasting of keywords? Sales were higher than over Christmas? According to this report, they were. This is such a bizarre consequence that you would think there must be a seasonal adjustment. However, also boosting the period's sales, is the reporting of income tied to the use of gift cards in the week after Christmas. Gift certificate purchases do not count as sales on the retailer's end until that card is redeemed.

Year-to-year sales gained 3.6%, off last week's reported 4.8% growth, but were in line with expectations for the full month of December. The International Council of Shopping Centers did adjust its December expectations lower on this week's news, so the blizzard had a negative impact, though a stealth one. And despite the impact, we must agree that the Christmas shopping season appears to have been a wildly successful one. The ICSC will produce its holiday season sales figures on January 6; that's Thursday, which also includes the chain store sales reporting of individual retailers for the month of December.

It seems that a return to normalcy in the operating environment of the still employed has allowed their spending increases to lift us all over a prior year period that included tighter credit conditions and an overwhelming sense of fear. Certainly, the last minute passage of unemployment insurance extensions and tax breaks added confidence to the consumer mindset this season as well. But where we go from here without job creating economic growth is a troubling consequence to ponder.



Article interests investors in: S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowes (NYSE: LOW), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), The Limited (NYSE: LTD), Chicos (NYSE: CHS), Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN), The Gap (NYSE: GPS), Macy’s (NYSE: M), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), TJX Company (NYSE: TJX), Kohls (NYSE: KSS), Costco (Nasdaq: COST), Target (NYSE: TGT), Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA), Hot Topic (Nasdaq: HOTT), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Saks (NYSE: SAK), Tiffany (NYSE: TIF), Talbots (NYSE: TLB), Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL), Builders Firstsource (Nasdaq: BLDR), Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO), Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), Tempur-Pedic International (NYSE: TPX), Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB), Select Comfort (Nasdaq: SCSS), Sleepy’s (NYSE: ZZ), Furniture Brands (NYSE: FBN), Natuzzi (NYSE: NTZ), Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD), Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS), Bon-Ton (Nasdaq: BONT), Cost Plus (Nasdaq: CPWM), Baker’s Footwear (Nasdaq: BKRS.OB), Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE), The Buckle (NYSE: BKE), Cache (Nasdaq: CACH), Casual Male (Nasdaq: CMRG), Cato (Nasdaq: CATO), Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK), Citi Trends (Nasdaq: CTRN), Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS), Destination Maternity (Nasdaq: DEST), Dress Barn (Nasdaq: DBRN), DSW (NYSE: DSW), Finish Line (Nasdaq: FINL), Footlocker (NYSE: FL), Gymboree (Nasdaq: GYMB), Guess (NYSE: GES), J. Crew (NYSE: JCG), Jones New York (NYSE: JNY), Jos. A Banks (Nasdaq: JOSB), New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY), Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW), Syms (Nasdaq: SYMS), The Children’s Place (Nasdaq: PLCE), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.