“What has really helped the quarter is very good sales because of El Nino. El Nino, is blamed for many things, but this time it can take credit for the boost in sales.”
“We believe that Hurricane Isabel could negatively impact September sales by approximately 0.5 to 1.0 percent. Retail stock prices have historically declined during hurricanes 54 percent of the time but usually recover quickly.”
“Despite the hurricane, we believe that the back-to-school season could be one of the best in years with particularly strong sales in the month of September, especially later in the month when weather is expected to be especially favorable.”
“We believe that most retailers were in line or slightly above plan for the fourth week of December, boosted by pent-up demand caused by two snowstorms earlier in the month and the trend toward later buying in the Christmas season.”
