Alan Rifkin
Alan Rifkin
Alan Rifkin is a former contributing editor of Details magazine. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Premiere, L.A. Weekly, Buzz and The Quarterly. His first book, Signal Hill, was a finalist for the 2004 Southern California Booksellers Award in Fiction. He was also a finalist for the 2003 PEN Center USA Award in Journalism . He lives with three children in Long Beach, California...
boost change continued earnings expected operating
Net-net, the change is expected to boost earnings on a continued operating basis.
believe cautious continue finest given home housing names outlook potential
While we believe Home Depot is one of the finest names in retailing, we continue to reiterate our cautious outlook on the shares, given the company's vulnerability to a potential slowdown in the housing environment.
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We admire Home Depot's solid execution and productivity. We continue to have a more positive view on the macroeconomic environment over the next six to 12 months.
admire continue environment execution home next positive six solid view
We admire Home Depot's solid execution and productivity, ... We continue to have a more positive view on the macroeconomic environment over the next six to 12 months.
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At expense of margins, we believe Pier 1 continues to rely on heavy promotions to drive sales. March results seem to have improved, but we await greater signs of improvement.
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People are increasingly concerned, given what Wal-Mart said, that higher gas prices are going to hurt the spending power of the consumer.
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I think people on the street were a little surprised that we weren't given full warning. Gift cards are increasing in importance and we think this season will represent 16 percent of sales.
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Given the demographics of the targeted Pier 1 consumer, we believe higher gas prices could limit spending levels and further impact comparable sales.
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Lowe's remains one of our favorite names. Despite concern of a softening housing market in 2006, we believe Lowe's solid results are indicative of trends in the broader home improvement industry.
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We remain very positive on the home improvement sector and Home Depot's prospects, particularly given current valuation levels. Home Depot shares are currently trading in line with the five-year historic low forward price-to-earnings ratio, based on consensus estimates.
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With gas prices already nearing the post-summer peak from last year, there is real concern that gas prices will be significantly higher than what we saw last year.
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This change basically affects the timing of when the rebates are accounted for, ... The way Best Buy will do it now is typically a more conservative approach.
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AutoZone's retail market for auto parts is already quite mature. So it's really difficult to improve business in that segment.
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Despite limited console availability, we believe that Xbox 360 boosted comp growth as traffic trends benefited from the excitement generated by the new product. Enhanced TV sales were also strong during December and January, which also aided same-store sales.