bigjimslade

NEW YORK - Retailers faced an uncertain 2006 Thursday after December sales figures showed that the holiday shopping season, while overall respectable, was disappointing for some of nation's most prominent merchants. As expected, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one of the stragglers, falling short of Wall Street's expectations and warning about its fourth-quarter profits. As stores reported their monthly results, the winners included Target Corp., Costco Wholesale Corp., Nordstrom Inc., and teen retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Gap Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. were among the other disappointments. "This is not a great showing, but not a poor showing. It is somewhere in between," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. "Consumers are not splurging everywhere. It is a little here and there. The consumer is very selective." Niemira noted that retailers will face a tougher environment over the next couple of months as higher heating bills and rising interest rates are expected to curb consumer spending. "The consumer is unlikely to be a strong consumer," he said. One potential bright spot is a steadily improving job market, whose gradual recovery helped boost consumer confidence last month. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in more than five years last week. That provided more data that the labor market is rebounding from the effects of a string of devastating hurricanes. "As long as people can find the right merchandise, have a job and borrow a little bit, they are going to go shopping," said Richard Hastings, an analyst at Bernard Sands LLC, who was more positive about consumer spending. "Overall, the holiday season was good. Retailers who had it all nailed down were the winners." The UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers preliminary sales tally of 65 retailers posted a modest 3.2 percent sales gain, at the mid-point of the 3 percent to 3.5 percent growth forecast for the month. The tally is based on same-store sales or sales at stores opened at least a year and are considered the best indicator of a retailer's health. That means that November-December sales will be up 3.5 percent, which is at the high end of Niemira's forecast, but a bit below the pace in consumer spending from the January through October period. After an uneven start to the holiday season, many retailers struggled in December as shoppers appeared to prolong their buying even later than in the past. The exceptions were those selling hot consumer electronics items like Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, digital cameras and digital music players, all of which were snapped up by shoppers early in the season. There were a number of factors that created more angst for merchants. They included Hanukkah falling particularly late this year, on Dec. 25, and the New York City transit strike, which occurred in the critical final days before Christmas, hurting retailers in Manhattan. Gift card sales also pushed December business into January or even later; gift card sales are only recorded when they are redeemed. Wal-Mart, which was more aggressive with its discounting and marketing efforts this year than last year, still disappointed, posting a slim 2.2 percent gain in same-store sales. The results, which were the weakest December performance since 2000, missed the 2.4 percent estimate from analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Total sales rose 6.3 percent. Wal-Mart also said its fourth-quarter profits would come in at the low end of expectations. Rival Target, which had a slow start to the holiday season, rebounded with a 4.7 percent gain in same-store sales in December, better than the 4.6 percent estimate. Total sales rose 11.6 percent. Sears Holdings announced mixed results. It said same-store sales tumbled 11.9 percent at Sears stores for the nine-week period ended Dec. 31 because of a lack of special promotions. Meanwhile, same-store sales at its Kmart stores rose 1 percent. Costco posted a 7 percent gain in same-store sales, beating the 6 percent estimate from analysts. Total sales rose 10 percent. Luxury retailers again had the best performance among department stores. Nordstrom reported a 7.7 percent gain in same-store sales, much better than the 3.8 percent Wall Street expected. Total sales rose 10.7 percent. Federated Department Stores Inc. posted a 3.4 percent gain in same-store sales, better than the 2.1 percent forecast. Total sales, which include stores from the company's 2005 acquisition of May Department Stores Co., rose nearly 100 percent. "We are pleased with Macy's and Bloomingdale's performance in December, despite disruptions caused by the New York City transit strike the week before Christmas," said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO in a statement. J.C. Penney Co. Inc had a 2.2 percent same-store sales gain in its department store group, missing the 2.5 percent analyst estimate. Total sales rose 3.1 percent. Gap posted a 5 percent decline in same-store sales, worse than the 4 percent drop analysts expected. Total sales fell 9 percent. Limited Brands Inc. had a solid 3 percent same-store sales gain, though it was less than the 3.4 percent forecast. Total sales rose 5 percent. Abercrombie & Fitch, which refrained from heavy discounting, had a 29 percent gain in same-store sales, beating the 18.2 percent estimate from Wall Street. Total sales rose 41 percent. On Wednesday, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. announced a 9.8 percent same-store sales gain, well exceeding the 3.5 percent estimate. Total sales rose 15.5 percent. Aeropostale Inc., which heavily discounted this holiday season, said Wednesday it had an 11.4 percent increase in same-store sales, far exceeding the 4.3 percent forecast.

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which made a big push this holiday season to woo customers with aggressive discounts and marketing, estimated that its December sales will meet only the low end of its forecast. The world's largest retailer said Saturday that sales at stores open for at least a year, known as same-store sales, are expected to be up 2.2 percent in December. The forecast was for a 2 percent to 4 percent gain. Same-store sales are considered the best indicator of a retailers' health. The company said that general merchandise sales outpaced demand for food. Wal-Mart, which stumbled during the holiday 2004 shopping season, came out with a holiday campaign two weeks earlier than last year. The retailer had a solid start to the season, but like many merchants, struggled with shoppers delaying their purchases longer than last year. Wal-Mart, whose gift card sales beat expectations this season, is counting on a big sales boost in January from gift card redemptions. Gift card sales are recorded only when customers redeem them. To entice customers with the newfound money to splurge on regular-priced goods, Wal-Mart rushed in new spring assortments and new outerwear for the day after Christmas. Meanwhile, it pushed discounted holiday goods to the back corner. Wal-Mart and many other major retailers are expected to announce their final December results on Thursday.

Half Price Books is a great store. Everything in the store is 1/2 off the sticker price on the book or more. I am a film historian and I go there alot to find great deals on books about Hollywood. Some of my great finds include a coffee table book on the history of MGM for $10.00 brand new and still in the shrink wrap, Veronica Lake's autobiography which is selling on ebay for $50.00 I got a used copy at HPB got $7.00 and verious hard to find books at a great price. They do have new books but you have to look for them and some of the stores have a new book section which the books are marked at 1/2 off. Half Price Books will buy out warehouses where they will get brand new copies of newer books and mark them down to 1/2 off. Also if they have alot of copies of one title they will mark them down lower the 1/2. As I said in my last postings I dont shop at BN or any other book store. If I need a new book I go to Amazon.com which I can use my Borders gift card there.

Here is a link to a map of all of the HPB stores. http://www.halfpricebooks.com/find_a_store.html If you sign up for there newsletter you can get coupons emailed to you.

Half Price Books has a there flagship store off of NW Highway in Dallas. It is about the size of a dept store. I dont shop at BN or Borders anymore. I get all my books at Half Price Books.

Half Price Books is having a 20% off sale Dec 26-29 2005. www.halfpricebooks.com

http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/return_1.html

Some of us early Thursday morning crashed the site. Good Times!

Target.com and BestBuy.com were two of the busiest Internet shopping sites on "Black Friday." Minneapolis-based Target Corp.'s (NYSE: TGT) Web site was the fourth busiest site on Friday with more than 2.9 million unique visitors, according to Nielson/NetRatings. That is up 143 percent from 1.2 million visitors a week earlier. Richfield-based Best Buy Co. Inc.'s (NYSE: BBY) Web site ranked fifth with 2.1 million visitors, up 75 percent from 1.2 million the previous Friday. The local retailers trailed eBay (9.5 million visitors), Amazon.com (4.6 million) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (3.4 million). Overall, Nielsen/NetRatings reported that 17.2 million people shopped online Friday, up 29 percent from 13.3 million a year ago. "[W]hile many shoppers headed out to the stores over the weekend, the majority first turned to the Internet to check prices and product availability," said Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings. Meanwhile, Shop.org projected that Monday will be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. The Monday following Black Friday has come to be known as "Cyber Monday" due to its heavy Web-shopping traffic. "On Cyber Monday, consumers set their sights on surfing for holiday gifts and shopping online," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org. "This year, online retailers will be capitalizing on the increased traffic by offering special promotions and discounts." Those special offers include free shipping and free gifts with purchases.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Electronics retailers and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were the early winners while some apparel chains faltered as the U.S. holiday shopping season started with a mixed Thanksgiving weekend, analysts said on Monday. Consumers once again proved to be resilient in the face of steep energy prices and rising interest rates, although aggressive holiday discounts were the biggest draw, suggesting that household budgets remain tight. Overall sales were either spectacular or flat depending on the survey, but analysts said Wal-Mart's aggressive advertising and discounts clearly paid off with better-than-expected day-after-Thanksgiving results. Research firm ShopperTrak estimated that sales dipped 0.5 percent to $13.4 billion on Friday and Saturday. But the National Retail Federation (NRF) trade group said sales for the weekend jumped 22 percent to $27.8 billion. ShopperTrak uses its own proprietary in-store monitoring devices as well as information from retailers to determine how much people spent in stores. The NRF surveyed about 4,200 consumers regarding their in-store and online purchases to come up with its figure, which may help explain the discrepancy. Analysts listed video games, high-definition televisions and digital cameras among the weekend's hottest sellers, which bodes well for Best Buy Co. Inc. and others. Apparel demand appeared to be mixed, however, with teen-oriented retailer Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE:ARO - news) getting a lot of attention for offering 50 percent off everything in the store while others, including Gap Inc., struggled to find the right fashions. Investors dumped apparel and department store stocks, pushing the Standard & Poor's retail index down about 1 percent in early trading. WAL-MART WINS, WHO LOSES? "Estimates of the strength of this holiday season's kick-off ranged from cool to incredibly strong," CIBC World Markets analyst Peter Benedict wrote in a note to clients. "One thing for sure -- Wal-Mart started strong with both its Wal-Mart division and Sam's division exceeding plan." Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, said sales were better than it had expected on the Friday after Thanksgiving -- known as "Black Friday" because it traditionally marks the point when retailers turn a profit for the year. It was not clear whether Wal-Mart's strength came at the expense of rivals, and the conflicting surveys on holiday weekend sales only clouded the picture. Target Corp., the No. 2 U.S. discounter, warned earlier this month that November sales would miss its forecast, which analysts blamed at least in part on Wal-Mart's aggressive holiday campaign. No. 3 discount chain Kmart, which acquired Sears, Roebuck & Co. earlier this year to form Sears Holdings Corp. said electronics, jewelry and toys were among its best sellers over the holiday weekend. Sears does not release monthly sales, but is expected to report third-quarter results next week. "We're definitely pleased with the weekend's results," Kmart spokeswoman Colleen Cleary said. Despite the mixed reports, analysts agreed that discounts were key to getting shoppers into stores. Goldman Sachs research showed that some 78 percent of retailers had increased their promotions from last year. Electronics were among the big sellers with standouts including the Xbox 360 video game console, LCD televisions and digital cameras. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Gary Balter advised clients to buy shares of Best Buy and Circuit City Stores Inc. on any weakness in the next couple of weeks, saying the current quarter was shaping up to be a strong one. Apparel demand was mixed as chains including Gap have acknowledged that their merchandise was unpopular. Analysts said current fashion offerings seemed uninspiring compared with last year, when pink was hot. Still, Merrill Lynch analyst Mark Friedman said clothing retailers seemed to be sticking to their markdown plans so far, and there was no evidence of last-minute panic discounts. "Aeropostale's 50 percent off the entire store seemed to be the most effective" promotion, he said in a research note.

I got one of the Gateway computers and I love it. It works great. I have Norton on it, MS Office and other big apps and it does fine. The big test is when I take it on the road.

My family and i had the PSA and we were in and out in 30 min. They even gave us breakfast!

I would say that this website and its admin's and members should be happy. While in line in a Dallas Best Buy I talked with almost everyone in line. I asked how they are doing, what are they there for and stuff like that. About 80% of them said that becuase of Gottadeal.com (by name) and the leaked ADs that they were in line for a good deal. I think as the day goes on we will see that alot of stories coming out that there were MORE people in line early this year then last. I really do think it is becuase of this site. Everyone should be proud!

We do and we all got to our locations around 3pm. We were all first in line at all locations.

Family wide we got (we hit 5 different Dallas area stores all at once) 48 Emachines 150 desktops 23 Toshiba 379 Laptop 60 512MB Sandisk mp3 players 62 Gateway Laptops Going to bed. Will post more later!

You cant get them online. You have to stand in line like the rest of us

My BB ad says 20 computers min per a store

Midnight local time

Best Buy would be your best bet.

I love Netgear. I have used them for many years and have had no problems. I just got my self the new Netgear MIMO wireless router and it is so powerful and no dead spots. Netgear is the best way to go in my book.

I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. I am very thankful to all of my new friends on here and all of the great people I have met. I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!

Yahoo.com has 2 big banner ads for Wal Mart

I called the DMN around noon and they said they wont be putting out a early edition. I am staying in downtown and will keep my eyes open for one.

Tomarrows paper will have everything.

It is true. The RAM is only 256MB or something like that. If you run like a anti-virus and firewall in the background you will need more RAM. I run 2GB on one emachine I got last year and the rest I run with 1GB and it runs great!