Investopedia: Best Buy Hits Reset Again

The Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) saga continues to twist and turn, with the latest development being the surprising resignation of CEO Brian Dunn. While this sort of major shake-up may be seen as yet another distraction and setback for a company struggling to find a new foothold in the electronics retailing world, the downside seems pretty limited. At this point, the market continues to price Best Buy for failure and shareholders may have reason to hope that the company can use this opportunity to make a clean break with a failed approach.

A Change at the Top
While now-former CEO Brian Dunn had a reputation as an operations-minded executive, it's hard to see how that did the company any good. Under his leadership, the company continued to over-expand and ignore the fact that online retailers like Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) had already sapped their walls. Just as bad, Best Buy seems to have plunged headlong into China without really understanding the market or how to compete with other rivals like Gome.

Click here for more:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Best-Buy-Hits-Reset-Again-BBY-AMZN-WMT-PIR0412.aspx

Investopedia: Zhongpin Takes Investors To The Abattoir

Zhongpin (Nasdaq:HOGS) is proving to be a tough company to love. While I still like the opportunity offered by China's fourth largest pork processor, this quarter shows once again that commodity markets are unpredictable and sometimes irrationally competitive. Though Zhongpin continues to offer solid long-term prospects to patient investors, more conservative investors may want to take their chances instead with company's looking to exploit China's protein demand through the export markets.

A Disappointing End to 2011  
Zhongpin doesn't necessarily make analysis easy on investors, as they did not print quarterly numbers for the fourth quarter results. Luckily, backing out the results isn't all that difficult.

Please read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Zhongpin-Takes-Investors-To-The-Abattoir-HOGS-WMT-SFD-TSN0315.aspx

Investopedia: Green Dot Making Investors A Little Green

It's not uncommon for new stocks to give back a lot of their market cap as the initial public offering (IPO) buzz fades and initial buyers look to cash out. In the case of Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT), that readjustment period has been pretty difficult as the stock is off nearly 60% from its all-time high. Making matters worse, competition is heating up and management's decisions have left more than a few investors scratching their heads.

Not Quite Living up to all the Growth Hopes  
Green Dot has logged three straight quarters of below-consensus revenue, and that frankly weighs heavier with institutional investors than the fact that that revenue is growing at a better than 20% clip. Where Green Dot is earning some credit is with the margins, as the company did pretty well in the last quarter with a two point improvement in adjusted operating margin.

Read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Green-Dot-Making-Investors-A-Little-Green-GDOT-NTSP-AXP-WMT0315.aspx

Investopedia: Can Best Buy Find A Relevant Model?

Circuit City? Gone. Borders? Gone. Linens 'N Things? Gone. CompUSA? Gone (though the brand was acquired out of bankruptcy and lives on). So, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), how ya feeling? Any fever, chills or loss of appetite? With plenty of analysts and commentators fighting over the shovel and the privilege of throwing the next scoop of dirt on its grave, it may surprise some to know that it hasn't actually fallen over. The question, though, is whether the failure of Best Buy is inevitable, preventable or altogether unlikely. (For related reading, see The 4 R's Of Investing In Retail.)  

A Bad Holiday Season?
Best Buy has already announced that U.S. same-store sales were slightly negative for the 2011 holiday season. There was poor performance in gaming, digital imaging and TVs, and solid sales in phones and appliances could not compensate for it. So, once again the question arises as to whether Best Buy can drive sales without deep discounting and whether its business model can withstand high discounting.


Please click here for more:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Can-Best-Buy-Find-A-Relevant-Model-BBY-AMZN-WMT-IM0112.aspx

Investopedia: Maidenform Pulled Out Of Shape

Players in the intimate apparel space, like Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI) and Warnaco (NYSE: WRC), warned earlier this month that the market was not so strong, and data from retailers like J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) was likewise not encouraging. Even with that backdrop, though, Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB) surprised the Street with a very disappointing third quarter and some self-inflicted wounds only made matters worse.

A Poor Q3  
There's no value in sugar-coating what was a lousy report from Maidenform. Sales rose less than 2%, while sell side analysts had been expecting 11% growth, versus last year's quarter. Wholesale sales, the bulk of MFB's revenue base, rose just barely more than 1%, but the results were curiously mixed. Sales to mass merchants like Wal-mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT) jumped 15%, but sales to department stores were down almost 1%. (To know more about buy side and sell side analysts, read: Buy Side Vs. Sell Side Analysts.)


Please follow the link for more:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Maidenform-Pulled-Out-Of-Shape-MFB-HBI-WRC-JCP-KSS-WMT-BRK-A-TGT-SHLD1114.aspx

Investopedia: Amazon Still Rather Amazing

E-commerce giant Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) may still be deep in the shadows of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) in terms of its reported sales, but there are precious few companies this size that are producing growth in excess of 40%. Although the Street was spooked by news that this fourth quarter could be a difficult one for this online retailer, investors would seem to have many more years of well above average growth in store with this name. (For more read Steady Growth Stocks Win The Race.)

Tricky Third Quarter Earnings  
Amazon is having no particular difficulty finding top-line growth, but that growth is coming at a cost. Reported revenue rose 44% this quarter, with organic revenue climbing 37%. Growth in media came in at 24%, with North American media sales growing 21%. Electronics and general merchandise looked strong at 59% growth (up 56% in North America), but this result was below most sell-side expectations.

Click below for the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Amazon-Still-Rather-Amazing-AMZN-BBY-BKS-NFLX-AAPL-EBAY-GOOG1027.aspx

Investopedia: What Is Walgreen's Next Trick?

Irrelevance is an intractable opponent. If your grandparents grew up in a major city, talk to them about what the neighborhoods used to look like. Chances are there were certain staples like a neighborhood butcher shop, a neighborhood bakery, a neighborhood dry goods store and a local bar (or three). A lot of this has frankly disappeared over the years, and Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) needs to be creative and aggressive if it is going to stay relevant in a landscape where the core drug business is increasingly moving out of drugstores. (For more on retail stores, read The 4 R's Of Investing In Retail.)

An Okay End to the Fiscal Year  
Walgreen's fiscal fourth quarter results were solid but a bit confusing, as a lower tax rate and share count did help boost reported earnings per share. Sales rose more than 6% on better than 4% comps, putting Walgreen ahead of other drugstore rivals CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) and Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) in terms of sales momentum. Drug sales were up about a percentage point less than overall sales, but the comp sales were similar, and prescription drugs are still about two-thirds of the sales base.


Click the link for the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/What-Is-Walgreens-Next-Trick-WAG-CVS-RAD-ESRX-MHS-WMT-TGT0929.aspx

Investopedia: Pier 1 Now A Productivity Story

There is no agreed-upon point where a company is no longer a turnaround story, but there are plenty of anecdotal reasons to believe that Pier 1 (NYSE:PIR) has moved on to become a productivity improvement story. The company has logged several quarters of impressive same-store sales growth, completed a share buyback and begun to talk again about store count expansion and new selling concepts. Still, even if Pier 1 is no longer a true turnaround, investors may well be able to expect quite a bit more fundamental upside as the company couples better merchandising with improved efficiency.

Solid Fiscal Q2 Results   
For the company's fiscal second quarter, Pier 1 reported that total sales rose nearly 10% to just under $340 million. On a comparable basis, sales grew 10.8% (against a difficult 11.2% growth comp last year). On a per-square-foot basis, sales grew about 10%. Unfortunately, management did not give a detailed breakdown of traffic and ticket trends other than to say that both were positive.


Click below for the rest of the article:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Pier-1-Now-A-Productivity-Story-PIR-CPWM-BBBY-TJX-WMT-COST-WSM0920.aspx

Investopedia: Best Buy Needs To Tune Out The Haters

Much to the chagrin of a lot of shorts, hedge funds and commentators, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) stubbornly refused to go out of business this past quarter. That's hyperbole, of course, but perhaps not by much - there is no shortage of commentary out there saying that Best Buy is utterly doomed, needs to close stores and/or start subletting space in order to survive. (Learn more in The 4 R's Of Investing In Retail.)


While it is true that Best Buy is indeed going through some hard times and it likewise true that consumer buying preferences have changed, a panicked attempt to pacify institutions is not what the company or its shareholders need. Best Buy is still producing positive cash flow has not yet reached a point of no return.

Challenging and Disappointing Second Quarter Results
That is not to say that Best Buy is doing well, as it clearly is not. Revenue was flat for this quarter (the company's fiscal second quarter) despite a nearly 3% decline in comp-store sales. Although domestic sales were down (down 1.5% on a 2.7% comp decline), international sales rose 4.6% despite a greater-than-3% decline in comps.



Read more at the link below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Best-Buy-Needs-To-Tune-Out-The-Haters-BBY-HGG-RSH-WMT-COST-GME-AAPL0915.aspx

Investopedia: Can Barnes & Noble Change One More Time?

One of the most dangerous things investors can do is confuse what they want to happen with what is most likely to happen. Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) is a good example of that Achilles heel for me - I'm a book nerd and very much want this company to succeed. The trouble is, though, that Barnes & Noble's market has changed dramatically, Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) and Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) are formidable competitors, and a sober and unemotional reading of the evidence suggests little more than "maybe" when it comes to the question of whether this company can make it.

Another Tough QuarterUnfortunately, Barnes & Noble's fiscal first quarter results don't offer a lot of encouragement. BKS missed the consensus with its revenue performance, as sales rose a little less than 2% this quarter. Retail revenue was down almost 3% (on a nearly 2% negative comp), while BN.com revenue rose 37% and revenue from the college business fell about 2%.

To read the full piece, please follow the link below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Can-Barnes--Noble-Change-One-More-Time-BKS-AMZN-AAPL-SNE-NOK-GOOG-MSFT-WMT0906.aspx

Investopedia: Does The Fresh Market Have A Real Chance

It may be hard to imagine that America really needs another food retailing concept. There are traditional supermarkets like Kroger (NYSE:KR) and Safeway (NYSE:SWY), organic-focused stores like Whole Foods (NYSE:WFM) and Earth Fare, value options like Aldi, and emerging concepts like Trader Joe's and Lowe's. And that's hardly the end of the list - major discount retails like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) long ago moved into food retailing, and deep-value "dollar stores" and pharmacies like Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) have added more and more perishable food to their shelves. 

But wait, there's more. A renewed interest in eating food that hasn't sat on a truck for a week has sparked more interest in farmer's markets and community-supported agriculture programs. So this is the market that The Fresh Market (NYSE:TFM) is facing. While this company has been around for a while now (it started in North Carolina in 1982), it is relatively new as a public company and has just begun to build a significant presence outside of the southern U.S.

Continue below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Does-The-Fresh-Market-Have-A-Real-Chance-TFM-KR-SWY-WFM-WMT-TGT-WAG0902.aspx

Investopedia: Leave Campbell Soup On The Shelf For Now

There was no reason to expect that Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) was going to fix all that ailed it especially quickly. There is next to nothing to be done about input costs, and likewise little that can be done about weak consumer spending. Product development and innovation are going to take time to bear any fruit, and investors simply have to settle in and accept that this is a company that won't be going anywhere fast for a while yet.


Fourth Quarter Results Really Not So Strong
While Campbell stock may well see a bit of a relief rally since the company did surpass the results preannounced at its analyst day, the full context of the numbers is not so great. Revenue rose 6%, and that did beat analyst expectations, but organic growth was just 1%, and volume was down 2%.


To continue, please click below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Leave-Campbell-Soup-On-The-Shelf-For-Now-CPB-GIS-THS-K-KFT-WMT-TGT0902.aspx

Investopedia: Dollar General Stuck Between Value And Growth

It is true that people will continue to buy food and other necessities of life through good times and bad, but there can be some pretty significant shifts in how and where they do that buying. When times are good and there's room in the budget, places like Whole Foods (NYSE:WFM) and Fresh Market (NYSE:TFM) can draw in the traffic. Tough times, though, lead to tough decisions and can lead shoppers to consider trading down to the likes of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and the deep discount retailers collectively known as "dollar stores." 


While that does indeed seem to be happening for Dollar General (NYSE:DG), the question is whether investors are already too far ahead of the story. Dollar General is indeed bringing people into the stores and management deserves credit for maintaining solid margins, but it looks like the valuation already presupposes a lot of that performance.

A Surprisingly Strong Second Quarter
One of the recent themes for retailers has been the push/pull between preserving margins (by raising prices) and preserving market share as input costs keep rising. Wal-Mart and Target (NYSE: TGT), for instance, have generally chosen to preserve margins and the result has been unimpressive same-store sales. Dollar General has generally been going the other way.


Read more at the link below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Dollar-General-Stuck-Between-Growth-And-Value-DG-WMT-DLTR-NDN-FDO-SVU-WFM0831.aspx

FinancialEdge: Famous And Infamous CEO Transitions

Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) shareholders had been dealing with rumors and uncertainty regarding the end of Steve Jobs' tenure as CEO for quite some time. Perhaps that explains why the reaction to the official announcement of Steve Jobs' resignation was calm and relatively moderate. Jobs' successor, Tim Cook, is already well-known to investors, analysts, and Apple employees, as he has been Apple's Chief Operating Officer for quite some time and filled in for Jobs as interim CEO during prior medical leaves of absence.

This calm reaction notwithstanding, CEO transitions can be major transformative events for corporations. Not only do new chief executives feel the burden of making their own mark on the company, but they live under the legacy (good or bad) of their predecessor and must deal with a company built to execute someone else's vision. With that in mind, investors may want to consider some of the more significant leadership transitions of the past years.

To read the full column, click below:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0811/Famous-And-Infamous-CEO-Transitions.aspx#axzz1WQj4nb8w

Investopedia: Today Not A Typical Williams-Sonoma Market

Higher-end retailer Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) has a problem. It's not a merchandise quality problem or an in-store experience problem. It's not a substitution problem; people still cook and use furniture. No, the problem for Williams-Sonoma is more of a consumer disposable income problem - there is nothing in a Williams-Sonoma store that people cannot live without, and as surveys from the National Retail Federation continue to show, people are trying to stretch their income further by shopping more at places like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY) and less at places like Williams-Sonoma.

Cracks Showing in Q2?  
Although Williams-Sonoma management decided to issue an earnings press release talking about "strong" earnings in the title, investors can be forgiven if they don't see it as such a strong release. Revenue came in at the lower end of analyst expectations, with reported growth of just a bit more than 5%. While in-store retail growth was pretty anemic (less than 1%), direct-to-consumer sales were up 13% and internet sales (part of DTC) was up nearly 19%. 

Read more through the link below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Today-Not-A-Typical-Williams-Sonoma-Market-WSM-PIR-WMT-TGT-BBBY-TIF-KSS0823.aspx

Investopedia: Can Retailers Pass The Back To School Test?

Across the country, a traditional rite of fall has either begun or is soon coming - the resumption of school. With the return to school goes an annual pilgrimage to the malls and shopping centers to equip the little tykes with the clothing, electronics and other supplies that they need to start the school year. For many retailers, this is the second-biggest shopping event of the year (after Christmas), but ongoing economic malaise may make this a tougher test this year. (If you have to do back-to-school shopping, check out Best Back-To-School Deals.)


Another Sluggish Season?
According to surveys from the National Retail Federation, this is not looking like an especially robust year. More specifically, it looks like per-family spending may dip slightly from last year (by about half a percent) to about $604. While this is certainly better than the 2009 malaise of $549 per family, it marks another year where retailers cannot rely on fatter wallets to boost their own profits.

Absent more money sloshing around the market in general, retailers will have to pull out the stops to lure shoppers into their stores. Going back to the NRF survey, customers are saying that they will rely more on discount stores, online shopping and sales, but they will not necessarily abandon the name brands and up-market products altogether.


Continue by clicking the link:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Can-Retailers-Pass-The-Back-To-School-Test-WMT-TGT-AMZN-AAPL-ANF-ARO-GPS0822.aspx

Investopedia: Tyson Almost Ready To Serve

For the most part, the average investor should approach Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) with skepticism. It is the top player in America in its respective markets, but that has never translated into a sustained attractive margin structure or free cash flow record. On the other hand, savvy investors don't turn away from profit-making opportunities, and Tyson's stock may be very close to a point where there is real money to be made. 



Familiar Themes Dominate the Third Quarter  
Investors who have been following agribusiness are not going to see too many surprises in Tyson's fiscal third quarter results. Revenue was not too bad, as Tyson reported 11% sales growth on a combination of better-than 12% higher pricing and slightly worse than a 1% decline in volume. Sales growth was fairly balanced - all of the major categories had significant sales growth, with beef leading the way at 13.5% price increase. The relatively small prepared food business was the laggard at 9% growth.

Continue to the full piece below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Tyson-Almost-Ready-To-Serve-TSN-HRL-SLE-WMT-SYY0811.aspx

Investopedia: Green Dot Looking Black And Blue

So far, prepaid debit card provider Green Dot (Nasdaq:GDOT) has followed a pretty familiar pattern - a successful IPO, some initial strength as big investment banks roll out coverage, and then a skidding share price as IPO buyers cash out and actual financial performance fails to match the lofty expectations of the IPO honeymoon. Even though Green Dot has disappointed some investors and there is still some regulatory risk, the stock seems to have skidded past a point where the fundamentals would support. 

Q2 Good, but Not Good Enough  
On just a casual first look, it might be hard to see why these shares have dropped to a 52-week low. Revenue rose 29% in the second quarter on a 23% increase in new activations and a 27% increase in active cards. Unfortunately, good as that was, it was below the consensus estimate for the second time in a row, and also represents ongoing deceleration in growth. 


Continue via the link below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Green-Dot-Looking-Black-And-Blue-GDOT-NTSP-WU-WMT-MA0808.aspx

Investopedia: Optimism Already Built Into United Natural Foods

There is nothing new about the organic food industry anymore, and investors are already well-attuned to the big names like Whole Foods (Nasdaq:WFM) and leading distributor United Natural Foods (Nasdaq:UNFI). The question, though, is whether there is still enough runway in front of UNFI to make the stock a worthwhile addition or holding for growth-oriented portfolios. While it is true that many major supermarkets like Kroger (NYSE:KR) and warehouses like Costco (Nasdaq:COST) could go even further in stocking more organic products, much of this seems to already be factored into UNFI's stock price. 

A Good Third Quarter, But With a Few Spots 

For the most part, United Natural Foods had a solid fiscal third quarter. Reported revenue rose more than 22%, while revenue rose more than 12% on a like-for-like basis. While better than 10% growth from major customer Whole Foods was a bit below average, UNFI did see nearly 20% like-for-like sales growth in the conventional supermarket category. (For more insight, see Organic Food For Thought.)

Unfortunately, that supermarket growth comes at a bit of a cost, because it is not as profitable as UNFI's more traditional channels (smaller organic-focused chains with much less bargaining power). Gross margin slipped about 30 basis points as a result. UNFI made some of this up through operations, though, and 15% operating income growth mitigated the operating margin erosion to about 20 basis points. 

To continue, click below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/A-Lot-Of-Optimism-Already-Built-Into-United-Natural-Foods-UNFI-WFM-COST-WMT-TFM-SYY-KR0603.aspx

hhgregg Looks For Success Where Most Find Failure

With a few big box retailers going under in recent years, it seems fair to ask whether yet another national big box retailer is what consumers really want to see. On top of that, more and more consumers are looking to general retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) or online vendors like Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) to buy their electronics. (For related reading, see Analyzing Retail Stocks.) 


That is a challenging backdrop for hhgregg (NYSE:HGG) - a regional big box electronics retailer that apparently thinks the nation needs another place to go shopping. Investors should give credit where it's due, though; the company has managed a solid pace of expansion while keeping a clean balance sheet and there just may be room for a truly new mousetrap.


Surprising Good Results Given a Tough Market
The best way to categorize hhgregg's fiscal fourth quarter is that the company must have a staff of alchemists on retainer, as this retailer seemed to do a very good job of transforming chicken-you-know-what into chicken salad. Comps were down almost 11% this quarter, and yet the company managed to handily exceed the bottom-line estimate without resorting to shadowy "other" income or suspiciously low tax rates.



To read the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/HHGregg-Looks-For-Success-Where-Most-Find-Failure-HGG-BBY-WMT-TGT-AMZN-GME-AAPL0530.aspx