Investopedia: Kohl's Could Work For A Trade, But It's In A Brutal Business

Retailers have to try to pick winners, and whenever a company builds its model upon picking winners it's just a matter of “when” (not “if”) the company stumbles. Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) did a lot of things right in building up its 1,150-store chain of value-oriented specialty department stores, but execution has been more problematic recently. Conventional valuation metrics suggest Kohl's could have further to run if/when the reported numbers improve, but investors thinking long term should be wary of the cash flow model and the ability of any company to establish long-term competitive edges in retailing.

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Investopedia: Wal-Mart Uses Rigorous Cost Control To Offset Weaker Sales

It's no secret that a meaningful percentage of the country's retail business goes on under the roof of Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) stores. To that end, when consumers are feeling pressure (particularly those on the less affluent side of the ledger) it shows up in Wal-Mart's numbers. This gigantic retailer didn't have a bad fiscal first quarter, and it sounds like the fiscal year ahead should get better, but once again Wal-Mart is having to turn to operating synergies to wring out some growth. This stock's status as a proxy for the U.S. retailing sector makes talk of value somewhat moot, but these shares don't look notably cheap on a long-term basis.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/051713/walmart-uses-rigorous-cost-control-offset-weaker-sales-wmt-tgt-kss-jcp.aspx

Investopedia: Kohl's Could Work For A Trade, But It's In A Brutal Business

Retailers have to try to pick winners, and whenever a company builds its model upon picking winners it's just a matter of “when” (not “if”) the company stumbles. Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) did a lot of things right in building up its 1,150-store chain of value-oriented specialty department stores, but execution has been more problematic recently. Conventional valuation metrics suggest Kohl's could have further to run if/when the reported numbers improve, but investors thinking long term should be wary of the cash flow model and the ability of any company to establish long-term competitive edges in retailing.

Please continue here:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/051613/kohls-could-work-trade-its-brutal-business-kss-jcp-gman-m-sks.aspx