Counter Culture

We’re spending the week in the Anchorage area, checking out some of the many real estate projects underway here and thought it would be a good opportunity talk about the area’s retail market.

Alaska might not be the first state on you minds when it comes to retailing, but they do have some interesting things going on, especially in this city of about 280,000 people.
Continue reading ‘Counter Culture Hits Alaska: Part One’

June sales results proved that discount chains are the ones winning the battle during this recession downturn.

According to ICSC’s monthly same-store sales survey, luxury stores experienced a 10.9% year over year decline in June, while discounters rose 5.1%. Wal-Mart’s 6.4% gain compared with Nordstrom’s 18.6% decline tells the plainly tells the story.
Continue reading ‘Discounters Rule the Retail Landscape’

To the surprise of few, wholesale clubs and discounters had the strongest sales in February, as the economy continues to smack down consumers. Costco’s same-stores sales rose 7% year over year, and Wal-Mart’s chains advanced a solid (for this environment) 2.6%.

But February’s results still left us with some questions.
Continue reading ‘Costco, Wal-Mart Benefit From Downturn’