Dollar Tree rose 3.37% today even as the stock market crashed.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR)
Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States. Its stores offer merchandise at the fixed price of $1.00.
Our new economy does seem very dollar friendly.
The same cannot be said for Sears (SHLD). It closed Monday at $108.90. It now sits at $88.70. That's a 19% loss.
May 20, 2010
Sears stumbles again
What gives? Sears has a good brand name historically for some items, such as appliances and tools, and has been known for low prices. It's got some good locations. But sometimes it seems like the company isn't even trying. Sears has been struggling for years and behaves as if it's not sure if it wants to be a retailer, or if it prefers to be an investment vehicle for hedge-fund investor Eddie Lampert.
May 8, 2008
Our Pillars of Retail Strength
What's a CEO to do these days if he can't report financial information and he can't hide financial information? That's sure some conundrum!
I refer you to the comments though. That's where the fireworks took place. Here's a sample.
I can't believe the previous comments are supposed to be taken seriously. First off, Eddie Lampert was recognized as a whiz a decade before buying Kmart. Second of Lampert is still a whiz his return on Kmart and on Sears even with the recent decline beats the market hand over fist.
Either you guys are joking or you like to buy high and sell low. Not my style. Lampert and Sears will prove to be fantastic investments over the next 10 years. Over the next 10 minutes? who knows and who cares?
SHLD closed that day at $93.45. It now sits at $88.70. The future continues to look bleak.
In hindsight, it would seem that mab's comments and my comments were actually intended to be taken seriously, we weren't joking, neither of us were looking to buy high and sell low, and the time span of the heckling was intended to last longer than 10 minutes. It has, after all, been two years so far.
A toast to you mab! Thanks for believing in the Illusion of Prosperity. We both bucked Eddie Lampert's long-term "sure thing" trend using nothing more than sarcasm and common sense. Who could have guessed?
But hey, as watchtower recently pointed out, Sears now offers cash-for-gold services. That's *sure* to revive their business model, because nothing says satisfied customer more than selling one's wedding ring to pay the rent. When times turn hard, count on the harder side of Sears!
Biggest mover today....TRMA!!!! Marine services are the future I guess.
ReplyDeleteI actually worked at Kmart in high school 1 year (1992-1993) and it was a good company to work for. Walmart has killed this space.
Mark,
you on some personal mission as of late? I already got ripped by Kid Dynamite, so who's next?
Check this out.
ReplyDelete$88 by 05/21/2010
Mike_in_kansas nailed the decline in Sears almost to the penny. It was a slow decline all day that just kept on going (down $10.86 for the day).
Nicely done Mike!
When you see predictions play out that well you often wonder what will be said next. I do anyway.
Re: $88 by 05/21/2010
There we go, $88 and change, just where it should be for today. (How about 85 tomorrow?)
Years from now we may find out that mike_in_kansas may be a Goldman Sach's computer algorithm, lol.
turing test
The Turing test is a proposal for a test of a machine's ability to demonstrate intelligence. It proceeds as follows: a human judge engages in a natural language conversation with one human and one machine, each of which tries to appear human. All participants are placed in isolated locations. If the judge cannot reliably tell the machine from the human, the machine is said to have passed the test. In order to test the machine's intelligence rather than its ability to render words into audio, the conversation is limited to a text-only channel such as a computer keyboard and screen.
Or maybe even a Yahoo message board, lol.
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteNo personal mission, although I do tend to post more when there are fireworks in the markets.
It also helps that my Borderlands addiction is slowing down, lol.
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteI just read your exchange on Kid Dynamite.
"you on some personal mission as of late?"
I don't know why you would think I'm on a personal mission. I just state my opinions like I always do.
I do have an opinion on inflation, gold, and other commodities and our opinions are clearly not the same. It certainly isn't personal though. I'd state these same opinions on my blog even if it was just my own personal diary and nobody else could read any of it.
You know what I meant.
ReplyDeleteDid you invent borderlands too? Geez..
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteI really don't know what you meant. It looked like you might be angry with me and you said on your blog that you are "now aggravated".
I can only assure you that what I write is not personal. If anything, all I'm trying to do is give people something to think about.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteSorry. I post one term a bit not quite right for what I meant and a Chit fest ensues (on KD site). I guess I am just a sensitive guy!
I welcome your opinions, come on now, we are beyond that. You do want to stick it to gold quite a bit but it keeps me nimble!
By monday I think Au/Ag may look better than today. Trillions have that effect.
I am 25% Au/Ag in hand/ 75% in cash. Come either big inflation or big deflation I am so covered. Now I want to buy BIDU in big blocks.
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteYou are a sensitive guy. Nothing wrong with that.
There's one thing you should keep in mind though. Look at my posts.
I don't just stick it to gold. I stick it to everything that I think is worthy. I'm a heckler.
I stuck it to Sears and the stock market today.
I stuck it to the financial advice yesterday.
I stuck it to my own TIPS right along with gold, silver, and the S&P 500 too.
I stuck it to China, gold, commodities, and CNBC on Tuesday.
I stuck it to euro investors on Sunday.
I stuck it to Trichet on Saturday.
The world is my pin cushion. It's what I do.
I'm not going to always be right of course, but since starting this blog I have had a fairly good track record.
My biggest flop was sticking it to California Pizza kitchen though. I want to stick it again and keep sticking it. It defies me and I shall someday exact my revenge, lol.
A Risky Bet
In college I used to stick it all over the place but then I met a real woman and got married. Now I just stick my foot in my mouth!
ReplyDeleteMark,
I am sensitive, it's a huge failing of mine. No offense meant. Just so much noise today.
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the only one who is sensitive.
INTJ
They have a low tolerance for spin or rampant emotionalism.
That's me.
The emotions of an INTJ are hard to read, and neither male nor female INTJs are apt to express emotional reactions. At times, both will seem cold, reserved, and unresponsive, while in fact INTJs are almost hypersensitive to signals of rejection from those for whom they care. In social situations, INTJs may also be unresponsive and may neglect to observe small rituals designed to put others at their ease.
That's me too.
If you were to heckle TIPS and I-Bonds endlessly on your blog perhaps I might start taking it personally too. Who knows?
I can say that the odds of me heckling gold are proportional to its current price, and has nothing to do with you though. I could also be wrong to heckle it. Only time will tell.
Holy Crap Mark,
ReplyDeleteI think I was just both insulted and called full of chit by Kid Dynamite in tonights comments and rather than go through the hoops of proving him wrong I am letting it go. His comments will come in handy later. Wow, I have a 5am wake up call but I think I may have to do 10 rounds on the bags to cool off. WTF!
Stag,
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why anyone would own Sears at current levels. I wouldn't buy the stock period.
Sears is a dying brand, they have old and outdated stores, revenues are way down and they hardly earn any money. Even if we were to have a CONsumer recovery, Sears is uncompetitive against the likes of Walmart, Costco, BJs, Best Buy etc.
On a net quick basis (current assets less current liabilities) Sears looks healthy on a short term basis. But that health is likely illusory given that all of it is based on inventory valuations. Good luck re-couping costs on inventory against a backdrop of deflation and a tapped out CONsumer.
And if the inventory becomes impaired, Sears's cash position is dubious too as the payables would swamp the cash and receivables.
They real estate value of Sears is questionable too. First, there's a glut of retail space. Second, commercial real estate has plunged back to 2003 levels and is still falling.
Location, location, location. Bah! Cyberspace, cyberspace, cyberspace. Especially now that the credit bubble is deflating.
The internet is an incredibly deflationary force, especially for retail.
Sears is trading on hot air and Eddie Lampert's reputation. A reputation that was earned during a massive bull market with a tail wind of ponzi debt creation, inflation and rising asset values.
One more thought - Kmart sucks!
SELL, SELL, SELL!
GYSC,
ReplyDeleteEvery time two people disagree on the Internet, one of them is always full of @#$%.
All it takes is a casual read through the Yahoo message boards to see that, lol.
Don't let it get you down.
mab,
ReplyDeleteSHLD "bucked" the trend again today. It lost a dime.
As I look at the price my attention is drawn to this article that I know you are going to love.
Coach sues city of Chicago over counterfeit bags
According to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Chicago federal court, Coach sent an investigator to the market last Aug. 9 and found several of the more than 300 vendors selling "counterfeit Coach products in plain view."
How does this apply to Sears?
In March, Coach sued Kmart Corp, a unit of Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O), for selling luggage it said looked too similar to a pattern it trademarked. That lawsuit was filed in a federal court in New York, where Coach is based.