Friday, June 4, 2010

Have Consumers Moved on From Discounters?

SmartMoney

In general, deep discount retailers continue to thrive because many customers are still struggling economically, and because the chains have upgraded their merchandise to retain that recently-expanded customer base, says Brian Sozzi, an equity research analyst who covers the retail sector at Wall Street Strategies. But a transition appears to be underway. Despite Wal-Mart’s ongoing strong earnings, there have been some small but significant issues that could impact long-term outlook for the stock’s growth. While Wal-Mart’s store sales rose in Mexico, Canada and China, comparable store sales dropped by 1.4% in the U.S. due to a dip in customer traffic, which has been declining since the fourth quarter.

Link to full article: http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/market-update-tuesday-may-18-2010-22241/