The economic trend for some time now has been a slow and meandering recovery. Despite improving consumer confidence numbers, a surprising first quarter GDP decline of 2.9% speaks to that uncertainty. Retail analysts and observers have a tendency to blame the weather whenever we have a bad economic quarter or when retail sales are unexpectedly sluggish, but I tend to be a little dubious of those explanations. Last winter was definitely rough enough to impact spending, but I don’t think it’s enough to explain the continued issues into the spring, which we discuss in this edition of Retail Rap.
Archives for 2014
Sarasota area can support many more stores and restaurants
Justine Griffin / Herald Tribune – With three retail centers in the works, including the only enclosed mall to open in the United States this year, retail is booming in Southwest Florida.
The question is, can Sarasota-Bradenton support the number of projects and dozens of new brands looking to enter the market?
Robert Gibbs, retail consultant with Gibbs Planning Group, thinks so — and more.
Back-to-school fever builds before tax-free days
Justine Griffin / Herald-Tribune – It’s less than a month until the back-to-school holiday shopping season kicks off with a tax-free weekend for Florida shoppers.
School supplies, clothing and some electronics will be exempt from sales tax at retail stores in Florida Aug. 1-3.
Shoppers won’t pay sales tax when they buy apparel — up to $100 per item, which is new this year — and on computers and other electronics that cost $750 or less
School supplies, such as pencils, backpacks and notepads, are tax-free at $15 per item.
Follow the Leadership
There have been more than a few headline-grabbing leadership transitions in the retail world recently. And, to be honest, “transitions” might be too gentle of a euphemism: some big names from some big-name brands have left, been fired, forced out, voted off the board, or otherwise pressured to step down in the last few months.
On the surface, it seems like the ousted leaders mentioned in this edition of Retail Rap left for different reasons; from Target’s CEO’s exit in the aftermath of the high-profile credit card theft/scandal last December to various CEOs leaving due to series of alleged transgressions ranging from the pedestrian to the bizarre. It strikes me that, beneath the public reasons cited for the departure of each of the CEOs discussed, there is a larger story of poor financial performance and ongoing uncertainty.
In this edition of Retail Rap, I dive into the public version of each big “transition” while questioning if something bigger is attributed to each of their exits.
Bass Pro surprises with Sarasota plan
Justine Griffin / Herald Tribune – Bass Pro Shops’ entry into the Sarasota-Bradenton market came with a surprise: The megastore outdoor retailer bypassed the site of the much balleyhooed Mall at University Town Center for a rural development just one highway exit south at Fruitville Road.
Bass Pro Shops will open an 80,000-square-foot Outpost store and anchor a new 260,000-square-foot retail center called the Fruitville Commons off Interstate 75.
Retail sales up 4.6% in June over last year
Justine Griffin / Herald Tribune – Chain store sales in June were the highest they have been in years, as pent-up demand from a blustery winter drove shoppers into stores, a report by the International Council of Shopping Centers shows.
Retail sales were up 4.6 percent compared with June 2013, the strongest pace analysts have seen since December 2011.
“Business was up sharply for most segments, especially at department stores, apparel stores, discounters and wholesale clubs,” said Michael Niemira, an ICSC research consultant. “Gasoline prices — which impact consumer discretionary purchasing power — stayed flat, providing consumers the ability to spend their money elsewhere.”
