Word: beemer
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...down in June. Abercrombie & Fitch lost $26.7 million, which includes $24.4 million in charges associated with the closing of Ruehl, in the second quarter. During the same period in 2008, Abercrombie scored a $77.8 million profit. "Abercrombie has mismanaged this economic downturn more than any other retailer," says Britt Beemer, CEO of America's Research Group, a retail consulting firm. (See TIME's photos of stores that are no more...
...When and if the economy heats up again, perhaps shoppers will return to the so-called aspirational brands like Abercrombie. But don't bet on it. "Retailers don't realize that consumers are spending less and doing O.K. with it," says Beemer. According to Beemer's research, only 40% of men and 20% of women say they'll spend at high-end apparel stores again. "Abercrombie keeps working to protect their brand," says Beemer. "But when you keep seeing 30% sales declines, you're going to protect your brand into oblivion...
...school lurks like a dour detention officer. The retailers selling students back-to-school clothing, supplies and gadgets will be pretty sad souls too. According the National Retail Federation, the average family with K-12 students will spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a 7.7% decline from 2008. Britt Beemer, founder and chairman of America's Research Group, a retail consulting firm, predicts spending will drop from 8.5% to 12.5% this year, compared with a 5% fall last year. "In my 30 years of tracking this, we've never seen two straight year of declines," says Beemer. "It's pretty...
Back to school is the second most important season for retailers, behind the December holidays. According to a survey conducted by Beemer, more than half of American parents are trying to get their children to recycle the clothing they wore last year, summer growth spurts not withstanding. More parents are also controlling the purse strings and moving down-market for pants and shoes. Nearly 45% more consumers say they will shop at Wal-Mart for back-to-school items this year, according to Beemer's survey, and Sears picked up 33.3% more shoppers. "A lot of moms and dads...
...computers are stretching from four years to as much as six years; laptops used to last about three years; now consumers are getting an extra year out of them. "Parents are asking kids to make use of existing resources, just like companies," Kumar says. Over the past four years, Beemer has asked consumers which type of electronics item they would be most likely to buy for their children for school. Computers were the most popular item every time. This year, the most popular item was calculators, which makes sense. They're cheaper, and a tool for parents who want...