Macy’s Massacred After Slashing Outlook On “Uncertain Consumer” As Inventories Reach Record Highs

Wow!!

Who could have possibly seen this coming?

Oh Yeah. Me.

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/01/06/and-it-begins-2/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/11/11/macys-imploding-catching-down-to-sears-penneys/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/10/14/ignore-the-media-bullsht-retail-implosion-proves-we-are-in-recession/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/08/15/department-store-results-imploding/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/06/14/consumers-not-following-orders/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/09/13/kohls-the-rest-of-the-retailers-are-in-deep-doo-doo/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/05/25/retail-death-rattle-grows-louder/

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/04/15/why-retailers-are-closing-thousands-of-stores-summarized-in-one-chart/

 

Tyler Durden's picture

The retailer apocalypse continues this morning with Macy’s crashing almost 10% in the pre-market after missing top-line and slashing its outlook citing the “uncertain direction of consumer spending,” which seems odd given the confidence with which The Fed, Obama, and every talking head proclaims the US consumer’s health. Comp store sales plunged 6.1% (almost double expectations) and this comes at a time when clothing inventories are at an all-time record high relative to sales.

“We are seeing continued weakness in consumer spending levels for apparel and related categories. In particular, our sales trend relative to expectations meaningfully slowed beginning in mid-March, and first quarter results are below our original outlook. Headwinds also are coming from a second consecutive year of double-digit spending reductions by international visitors in major tourist markets where Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are key destinations, as well as a slowdown in some center core categories – further intensifying the challenges associated with growing topline sales revenue,” said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s, Inc. chairman and chief executive officer.

Continue reading “Macy’s Massacred After Slashing Outlook On “Uncertain Consumer” As Inventories Reach Record Highs”

The American Consumer Will Never Be Back

Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,

That title may be a bit much, granted, because never is a very long time. I might instead have said “The American Consumer Won’t Be Back For A Very Long Time”. Still, I simply don’t see any time in the future that would see Americans start spending again at a rate anywhere near what would be required for an economic recovery. Looks pretty infinity and beyond to me.

However, that is by no means a generally accepted point of view in the financial press. There’s reality, and then there’s whatever it is they’re smoking, and never the twain shall meet. Admittedly, my title may be a bit provocative, but in my view not nearly as provocative, if not offensive, as Peter Coy’s at Bloomberg, who named his latest effort “US Consumers Will Open Their Wallets Soon Enough”.

I know, sometimes they make it just too easy to whackamole ‘em down and into the ground. But even then, these issues must be addressed time and again until people begin to understand, and quit making the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons. People have a right to know what’s truly happening to their lives, and their societies. And they’re not nearly getting enough of it through the ‘official’ press. So here goes nothing:

US Consumers Will Open Their Wallets Soon Enough

People are constantly exhorted to save, but as soon as they do, economists pop up to complain they aren’t spending enough to keep the economy growing. A new blogger named Ben Bernanke wrote on April 1 that there’s still a “global savings glut.” Two days later the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the weakest job growth since 2013, which economists quickly attributed to soft consumer spending. Continue reading “The American Consumer Will Never Be Back”