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CNN Live Saturday
How Did Retailers Fair This Holida Season?
Aired December 27, 2003 - 18:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so maybe the holiday season isn't what retailers had hoped, but just far off the mark are sales. Marion Asnes is a senor editor with "Money' magazine and she joins us from our New York bureau. Marion, good to see you. Happy holidays.
MARION ASNES, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Happy holidays, Carol.
LIN: So what do you make of that report. Retailers obviously have to be disappointed, but likely this could mean big sales for us the consumers now.
ASNES: Well, certainly, the ball is on our court now and the sales have begun big time. One of the things you should know is that retailers count all the way until December 31 as their holiday season. So as far as they are concerned, it is not over and it won't be over, and we won't know really until next week.
But although some stores are disappointed, most notably Wal-Mart which did not get all the sales that it was hoping for. A lot of stores did surprisingly well. One of them which you showed on the air just a moment ago was Chicos. Another one was Nordstrom, Sharper Image did very well. You know, there are certain things that are selling very well. This has been the year of the hot item. And if you were chasing that hot item, if you were selling that hot item you did very well.
LIN: Like what? Alan was referencing in general jewelry and leathers goods did well. Anything specific?
ASNES: That's right. Well, surely, Coach bags have done well this year, certain Gucci and Prada bags, but only very specific models, which is kind of an interesting new twist on luxury shopping. Flat screen TVs did very well. And one of the reasons for that, of course, is that their prices are coming down.
LIN: So what does that tell retailers? Are there lessons to be learned by them about consumer behavior and what people are looking for?
ASNES: Well, I think that what you are seeing is something that "Money" magazine actually has been talking about all year, which is the democratization of luxury. As the prices of some luxury goods start to come down into a more affordable range, more and more people want them. And more and more people are getting them instead of the other kind of goods as they would get normally at a place like Wal- Mart which is an all round discount store. People are choosing their special things for which they will reach to the top of their budget. And then for everything else they will go cheaper.
LIN: So what do these numbers tell you about how the economy in general might do in 2004, any indications either for the economy or specifically the stock market?
ASNES: Actually, these numbers tell me absolutely nothing because they are not really complete yet. We have to wait about another week and a half before we will know more. Some stores, though, like Chicos have already raised their earnings guidance. So you do have some people doing very well. Also, one thing to note is that Internet shopping really took off this year, in part aided by three very bad snowstorms in the Northeast. So you have people who might have gone to the mall but decided to stay home. They didn't want to drive in the snow. And Internet sales are up for the holiday season 54 percent above last year. So that is an enormous rise.
LIN: Yes, and that means good news for UPS and FedEx because those packages have to go out and be sent somewhere, somehow.
ASNES: That's true. UPS, FedEx and the US Post Office. Too bad that's not public. Actually, it is a good thing that is not public.
LIN: Yes, I was about to say.
ASNES: Let's go on to the next idea. But anyway you do have this rise in Internet shopping, QVC, LL Bean and Land's End also have done very well this holiday seasons because people stayed home and shopped by phone or shopped by remote control.
LIN: Good basics and lots of convenience. That is what I was looking for this year. Thanks so much, Marion.
ASNES: Well, happy holidays.
LIN: Happy holidays and Happy New Year.
ASNES: You too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 27, 2003 - 18:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so maybe the holiday season isn't what retailers had hoped, but just far off the mark are sales. Marion Asnes is a senor editor with "Money' magazine and she joins us from our New York bureau. Marion, good to see you. Happy holidays.
MARION ASNES, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Happy holidays, Carol.
LIN: So what do you make of that report. Retailers obviously have to be disappointed, but likely this could mean big sales for us the consumers now.
ASNES: Well, certainly, the ball is on our court now and the sales have begun big time. One of the things you should know is that retailers count all the way until December 31 as their holiday season. So as far as they are concerned, it is not over and it won't be over, and we won't know really until next week.
But although some stores are disappointed, most notably Wal-Mart which did not get all the sales that it was hoping for. A lot of stores did surprisingly well. One of them which you showed on the air just a moment ago was Chicos. Another one was Nordstrom, Sharper Image did very well. You know, there are certain things that are selling very well. This has been the year of the hot item. And if you were chasing that hot item, if you were selling that hot item you did very well.
LIN: Like what? Alan was referencing in general jewelry and leathers goods did well. Anything specific?
ASNES: That's right. Well, surely, Coach bags have done well this year, certain Gucci and Prada bags, but only very specific models, which is kind of an interesting new twist on luxury shopping. Flat screen TVs did very well. And one of the reasons for that, of course, is that their prices are coming down.
LIN: So what does that tell retailers? Are there lessons to be learned by them about consumer behavior and what people are looking for?
ASNES: Well, I think that what you are seeing is something that "Money" magazine actually has been talking about all year, which is the democratization of luxury. As the prices of some luxury goods start to come down into a more affordable range, more and more people want them. And more and more people are getting them instead of the other kind of goods as they would get normally at a place like Wal- Mart which is an all round discount store. People are choosing their special things for which they will reach to the top of their budget. And then for everything else they will go cheaper.
LIN: So what do these numbers tell you about how the economy in general might do in 2004, any indications either for the economy or specifically the stock market?
ASNES: Actually, these numbers tell me absolutely nothing because they are not really complete yet. We have to wait about another week and a half before we will know more. Some stores, though, like Chicos have already raised their earnings guidance. So you do have some people doing very well. Also, one thing to note is that Internet shopping really took off this year, in part aided by three very bad snowstorms in the Northeast. So you have people who might have gone to the mall but decided to stay home. They didn't want to drive in the snow. And Internet sales are up for the holiday season 54 percent above last year. So that is an enormous rise.
LIN: Yes, and that means good news for UPS and FedEx because those packages have to go out and be sent somewhere, somehow.
ASNES: That's true. UPS, FedEx and the US Post Office. Too bad that's not public. Actually, it is a good thing that is not public.
LIN: Yes, I was about to say.
ASNES: Let's go on to the next idea. But anyway you do have this rise in Internet shopping, QVC, LL Bean and Land's End also have done very well this holiday seasons because people stayed home and shopped by phone or shopped by remote control.
LIN: Good basics and lots of convenience. That is what I was looking for this year. Thanks so much, Marion.
ASNES: Well, happy holidays.
LIN: Happy holidays and Happy New Year.
ASNES: You too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
