Back-to-School Shopping Lifts Many Retailers

[ClarkUSA]

Source: The New York Times

Despite the volatile stock market, an East Coast hurricane and predictions of delayed back-to-school purchases, Americans continued buying at a fast pace in August.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.4 percent on average from August 2010, according to a Thomson Reuters tally of 23 retailers. That was 0.2 percentage points below what analysts had expected, but still a good result.

“It bodes well for the balance of the year — the consumer has shaken off the craziness of Wall Street and the negativity coming out of Washington, and they’re buying,” said Madison Riley, managing director at Kurt Salmon, a retail consulting firm.... companies with the biggest increases represented pretty much every retailing sector. BJ’s Wholesale and Costco, both warehouse stores, posted same-store sales increases of 11.5 percent and 11 percent. Limited, a consistently good performer because of its Victoria’s Secret division, was also up 11 percent. The teenage-oriented store chain The Buckle was up 8.3 percent, while Nordstrom rose 6.7 percent.

All five were also the biggest upside surprises, beating analyst estimates by the biggest margins among the stores reporting

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/business/economy/back-to-school-shopping-lifts-many-retailers.html?_r=1&hpw

[Mnemosyne]

1. With so many broke, my brain saw - Back-to-School Shop Lifting.

I need a drink...

[ClarkUSA]

2. LOL

Beer's on me... :toast:

[Mnemosyne]

4. I'll take you up on that!

:toast::hi:

[bluestateguy]

3. Schools are passing the costs on down to parents

and many underpaid teachers, who in the past have bought classroom supplies themselves, are no longer doing so.

[LibertyFox]

5. Really?

Since when? Every year I went to school (1988 - 2002) we always had to buy our own supplies.

[bluestateguy]

8. Teachers that I know are no longer buying classroom supplies out of their own pocket

They have to make up for not getting cost of living raises, or even pay cuts, and that is how they make up for the lost wages.

[christx30]

9. My parents

always bought my school supplies. A lot of schools lately are putting everyone supplies into a big pot and letting everyone take from that pot. Makes me not want to spend my money on supplies for my kids if they aren't even going to able to keep them for themselves.

[MadinMo]

6. Well, all I know

is we did our part. Sending two kids to college.

[No Elephants]

7. Slightly below expectations is a victory? Swill. Er, I mean, swell.