tedstr

Same-Store Sales Trends

excuse me if I use some generalities here, but this is not tough.

A- Department stores have been in decline for 30 years, save a few positives with the arrival a few creative operators like Nordstroms.

B- Specialty stores go from one fad to the next. There are plenty of successes in here as well as failures

C- That leaves discounters and wholesalers. Walmart's volume and growth, dwarfs all the rest.

D- Mortgage debt has been consuming an ever larger share of household spending.

Guess what. Things are changing. If you are looking for a contrarian trend, I'd say that the consumer is deleveraging but mostly out of mortgage debt and consumer electronics.

Once you've got three ipods, a plazma TV, three PCs in your home, whatg else do you need?

Misleading April Retail Numbers: Invest In Discounters

Your argument only supports the fact that more people are shoppping at discounters...a long term trend that has been in place for many years, recession or not.

The additional day in April does indicate that sales may have been down YTY but it seems to be balancing out month to month at a slow but not recessionary pace.