Jeff Stinson Quotations

...Half of its task is getting people in the stores on a more frequent basis.

I think the challenge Kmart really faces right now is whether it's going to be able to keep pace with Wal-Mart and Target, and can they improve the big investment in store value. ...To close the gap between your peers casts a lot of uncertainty on the numbers and expectations.

Overall, the positive earnings surprise will be well received by investors, but the outlook for the company remains uncertain.

I think it would bring in more businesses down here, probably bring in more competition.

There is a tremendous amount of opportunity with their Tommy Hilfiger women's business. That should allow them to prosper.

We would expect Kohl's to meet or beat expectations on a more regular basis in 2006.

With such uncertainty about the future direction of the (Lord & Taylor) business, it is difficult to assess what a financial buyer would be willing to pay for the business.

Black Friday is about sending a message. It is about establishing a reputation for the rest of the holidays.

You saw a little better earnings than expected, a more optimistic outlook for full-year earnings, and people beginning to see margin expansion for the company after some declines over the last 18 months. That visibility is the biggest reason you're seeing the stock move up.

It's the way Costco built their business model, and now it's ingrained in their culture.

It looks like the off-mall numbers look really good, and the mall-based numbers still look to be tough out there. To say this is a trend we've seen over the last year is selling it short. It's been a trend we've seen for quite some time. The off-price guys offer better prices to consumers.

Investors should keep in mind that this (auction) process will take longer than most initially expected and will by its vary nature be lumpy.

Chuck and his team have been able to put their turnaround plans in place and take steps to change those issues that have held back the company over last 20 years. The challenge is kind of managing the business day to day while trying to effect all these changes. That's why we saw the loss of two cents during the quarter.

I don't think Federated will be alone in talking down earnings expectations for the quarter and also the second half of this year. You look at the things impacting Federated and they are industry and consumer-related issues, not company issues.