Mostly: Classical

[Sexton O Blake]

Someone mention a pizza? Retail sales SUCK!

Cripes - if WMT can't push the Chinese junk - WTF can?? My only xmas gift from them was Nascar 2005 for GC! Wait and see the electronic guys..

Anyways lowest numbers in 5 years!

Wal-Mart offers cautious view on quarter

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B12A2002C%2D2C60%2D4CE7%2DADD8%2D1A59A373AA5E%7D&am...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. warned investors Thursday that fourth-quarter profit was tracking near the low of end of its forecast, amid tepid holiday sales, meaning earnings would come in below Wall Street's current average estimate.

Wal-Mart, which attempted to jump-start the holiday shopping season with a pricey marketing program that began Nov.1, said total sales climbed 6.3% to $40.83 billion.

Same-store sales - an important industry measure of sales at stores open longer than a year - rose a modest 2.2%, the company confirmed Thursday. However, it was food sales that fed most of December's sales, dominating receipts in three of the crucial month's weeks. As compared to general merchandise sales, food sales deliver thinner profit margins.

Wal-Mart said that fourth-quarter results will come in at the low end of its range of 82 cents to 86 cents a share. At Thomson First Call, analysts had reached a dead-center average expectation of 84 cents. Typically, Wal-Mart would characterize its profit expectation as in the middle of the range if that's what executives were expecting.

Offering maybe a glimmer of hope is that December's receipts rose because customers were willing to pay more per trip. That helped offset the fact that fewer people were shopping.

Wal-Mart has launched a number of initiatives in the last year aimed at selling higher-priced, better-quality merchandise to attract a higher-income customer. That is a strategy that has worked well for rivals Target and Costco Wholesale which have been able to better ride out the tide of a sluggish economy than Wal-Mart.

The move could suggest that at least some of Wal-Mart's shoppers aren't turned off by higher-priced merchandise such as $168 fresh-packed salmon filets or $100 set of 1,000-thread count sheets and pillow cases.

On the other hand, it underscores a growing fear among many retailers that consumers - especially those whose budgets are pinched with higher energy costs -- are getting tapped out and shopping less.

The results were disappointing to investors - particularly because Wal-Mart held firm on its projection of a 2% to 4% rise in same-store sales throughout the month.

This week, senior executives have attempted to temper the surprise, saying publicly that they were pleased with the holiday results.

B

Ed To this day, Costco's return policies blow away every competitor!

(Double Cheese and Pepppppperoni.. Thin Crust.. Extra Sauce.. Whole Wheat.. with a Coke (w/Lemon & Tequila)