Holiday Sales Freak You Out Already?

Whoa! People are talking about holiday sales already?!?!

Economists are apparently worried about how retailers will perform this holiday season, which is about as surprising to us as hot weather in Phoenix. “The holiday season will be bad — if not worse than the last year,” says Bernard Baumohl, managing director and chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group LLC.

Pier 1 Abandons Cost Plus Bid

Well, it looks like a few of Counter Culture’s readers are breathing a sigh of relief.

Pier 1 Imports has decided not to pursue its $81-million offer to acquire Cost Plus World Market just a couple weeks after the latter’s management called the deal “distracting and ill-timed.”

Forever 21 Is Tearing it Up

These days around here we’re usually writing about chains closing stores or tapering back growth plans. So it was refreshing to read this Los Angeles Times article about Forever 21’s aggressive expansion.

The retailer, which focuses on selling affordable apparel to young women, is opening a 90,000-sf three-level store in Times Square next year, and executives predict revenue will jump from $1.8 billion this year to $2.5 billion in 2009. The 400-store chain is also looking abroad with openings to come in Asia/

Cold Stone Feels the Pinch

A recent Wall Street Journal article examines the problems faced by Cold Stone Creamery, the ice-cream chain that was one of the hottest expanding concepts a few years back.

The article says that 100 stores closed last year and that “one list on a Cold Stone Web site recently had 303 stores for sale — more than 20% of the company’s 1,384 as of December.”

Winn-Dixie Is Tough.

Winn-Dixie is becoming a boxer that refuses to get knocked out.

After news last week that competitor Publix is buying 49 stores from Albertsons, Winn-Dixie chairman Peter Lynch released a statement saying that the move won’t impact his chain, as a majority of its stores are close enough.

Will Gap’s Downsizing Work?

Gap Inc. Chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy yesterday told a New York City investor conference that his company is looking at combining concepts into single stores and reducing store count.

The retailer will accomplish this, in some cases, by putting an adult Gap, along with baby, body and kids concepts, under one roof creating a superstore.

Does a Pier 1-Cost Plus Merger Make Sense?

When we saw that Pier 1 Imports is offering to buy competitor Cost Plus for $81 million, we have to admit that confusion set in.

As much as we like the Cost Plus stores (Where else in the suburbs can you pick up Pinot Noir, Sriracha and a fancy chair under one roof?), the timing of this deal seems a bit off.

Is Wal-Mart Criticism Waning?

We remember, not long ago, when Wal-Mart collected more negative headlines than Kobe Bryant hit fade-away jump shots.

Towns didn’t want the retailer to open a store in its borders. The company treated its employees like dirt. It was destroying the environment. Mom and pop stores were being laid to waste by Wal-Mart’s expansion. There were countless critics and a well-publicized documentary was released.

So That’s It For Sharper Image

We guess everyone saw this coming.

Sharper Image is shutting down all of its 180-some stores after battling dismal sales, bankruptcy and putting itself on the market.