The Retail Focus Podcast

To start the show, we take on Ollie’s continued ability to beat analyst expectations, and whether the concept’s growth can be maintained in their next fiscal year. We discuss potential issues with Amazon’s various grocery programs and underlying numbers that serve as a cause for concern for RH before discussing how True Value’s unique store model enables them to keep up with Home Depot and Lowe’s.

A rarity in the fashion and/or mall segment, francesca’s beats expectations in nearly every category during their latest earnings call. We discuss them and two other retailers continuing upward momentum in Five Below and Duluth Trading Company. We end our show with a glance at the rumor mill, as Albertsons may make a play for Sprouts Farmers Market and Payless may close a significant number of locations.

Dollar General exceeded expectations, and we begin this week’s show by discussing reasons why possible “price war” effects on DG may be overblown. We discuss troubled times at Christopher & Banks and Pottery Barn, and surging sales at West Elm. Finally, we discuss new sporting goods retail initiatives by Dick’s and Hibbett Sports.

We delve into the stories of three struggling retailers, and in what ways the troubles of Sears Holdings, Staples, and Express differ—and whether better times are ahead for any of the three. Better times are not ahead for off-price chain Gordman’s, who will most likely liquidate…we discuss them along with yet more news from the proposed Walgreen’s-Rite Aid deal.

Burlington Coat Factory issues their 4^th quarter results, and continues the excellent run of late in off-price retail with excellent numbers. We also discuss to what extent grocery deflation might be hurting Costco, Meijer’s reinvestment plans, and whether analysts’ expectations of Kroger are unreasonable. Our interview guests are Nick Eckhart and Mike Kalasnik of Dead & Dying Retail, as we discuss with them the push to preserve retail memories for future generations.