Will There Be Anywhere Left to Shop in 2010?

Judging by the stock charts, the answer is no - not really. (I knew there had to be some solution to making Americans stop over spending!)

I wrote a piece in early November [Are Department Stores Signaling a Recession?] with the charts of Kohls (KSS), JcPenney (JCP), and Nordstrom (JWN), all in free fall. But compared to where they are now, these were great prices to get out at.

Where are we going to have left to shop? All these stocks are being priced as if on the way to $0 (but there is 1 winner left standing, seen at the bottom of this post)

*** High End Consumers, no place will be left for you...







*** Middle End Consumers, no place will be left for you...







*** Lower end? Not at Sears or Kmart




*** We can't even buy drugs...






*** or Home improvement products






*** Not even Office products?




*** But at least we can rely on women to shop for clothes right?? Not so much....




But - there is Always a bull market Somewhere. With middle class being squeezed away by all time income inequality [Do the Bottom 80% of Americans Stand a Chance?]- smitten by job losses and inflation (I know, I know folks - the solution is cutting corporate tax rates - that always helps the middle class!), who can we rely on? Who will stand there ready to help?

There must be one retailer left standing which like a cockroach will survive after every other retailer goes out of business.... whose stock holding up great (what correction?) and is telling us they will be doing well in the economic tsunami (as they say stocks predict 6 months in advance, right?). So who will do well in the economy we will have in 6 months+, in this "pooring" of America scenario? Where will all these formerly upward middle class and upper middle class with their knock off Gucci bags be shopping?.... hmmmm...

Comments

[kowalski:]

Nice, very nice!

2008 Jan 16 09:20 AM

[James Cullen:]

Ditto, I like it!

2008 Jan 16 10:03 AM

[Lillama:]

Good point, and Wal-mart, well, it's like a cockroach in so many ways. I just can't shop there. I am hoping that consumers will notice that many Kohl's items sell for Wal-mart prices, and even Nordstrom has low prices on some things; for example, they have fine silk wedding gowns for around $200, the same price as those tacky polyester bridal barn types. If consumers are informed, these retailers can hold their own in a poorer America (should that come to pass).

2008 Jan 18 08:51 AM

[BOB BABIAR:]

I hope the turn around is today - buying

2008 Jan 18 10:46 AM