Kurt Barnard Apparel Quotations

Based on what we've heard and seen so far, the fashion apparel stores and department stores are going to be hit with lower profits.

Whatever strengths fashion apparel did show came from deep markdowns.

The demand for the 'luxury look' is back. Americans want to be fashionable and elegantly dressed but that doesn't mean they want to go broke in the process, ... Consumers know that they can get that well-dressed look for an affordable price, and that's why the specialty apparel chains like Gap ( GPS : Research , Estimates ) and Ann Taylor ( ANN : Research , Estimates ) are performing well.

It was really the department store chains and the apparel retailers that took it on the chin with weak January sales results. But a couple of names in those two groups are guiding higher than expected, predicated on expectations of lower promotional activity going into spring.

They are now getting into the apparel business in a way they have not known before -- in a way that establishes Sears Roebuck as a major operation in apparel.