Retail Outlook Bright Despite 1st-Quarter Snags

A strong U.S. dollar, the lingering impact of the West Coast ports shutdown and lousy weather in March are expected to weigh-down profits of public companies in a variety of industries — but retailers may get some spring in their step at last as pent-up demand and higher consumer confidence buoy the sector. Analysts and economists are essentially writing off the first quarter for retailers, saying better times are ahead. Meanwhile, one analyst sees retail going through a “major transformation” and the innovators are from an unlikely channel: department stores. On the broader earnings front, Estimize.com, which tracks all sectors of the S&P 500, said in its second-quarter profit preview that “you’d have to be living under a rock not to know about the tepid expectations.” The Estimize.com consensus expects the accumulative average profits of the S&P 500 to show a decline of 1.5 percent year-over-year and said “this would be the lowest growth rate since 2009.” The topline is also pegged for a decline — about 1 percent down from the same period last year. That said, Estimize.com noted there’s strength in the consumer discretionary sector “with earnings growth expected to hit 15.4 percent and revenues of 7 percent.” Within this area,

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...



from WWD » Hermès Opens Wanderland Exhibition http://ift.tt/1FopkkN

via IFTTT