Aeropostale Trumps Macy’s as a Brand?

We know that Aeropostale fares well in the recession and posts impressive sales due to its kindly priced apparel that connects with its teen audience. But as a brand name is it really more valuable than Macy’s?

Well, that’s the case, according to firm Interbrand Design Forum, which put out a list of the 50 strongest retail brand names in the country. It’s list has Aeropostale at number 35, while Macy’s is ranked 50th.

TJX Launching New Chain, Expands Stores

TJX Cos.’s management is launching a new chain in the spring next year that management says has the capability of hitting 100 stores. It’s not putting a name out there yet, though, and won’t reveal the concept.

Meanwhile, the operator of Marshalls, T.J. Maxx and other chains plans to nearly double its overall store count from just above 2,700 units to 4,200 locations. This year, 130 new stores are planned.

Can Walmart, Target Adapt to Smaller Stores?

It seems like every big-box retailer out there is looking to size down store sizes in efforts to grow in urban areas. Walmart is focusing on smaller stores. Target kind of has plans to do the same. Home Depot is already incorporating the strategy.

On the surface, it makes sense. Even with higher real estate costs, these chains are moving into high-density areas with significant household incomes.

Report: Retail Sales Up, But Margins Drop

Even though we are in a global recession, the largest retailers in the world still found a way to increase sales by 5.5% in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended in June, according to a Deliotte Touche Tohmatsu report.

But at the same time, profitability fell from 3.7% to 2.4%, the report says. And of that 30 of the largest retailers operated at a loss during the period.

The Top 100 Retailers

Stores magazine just put out its list of top 100 retailers by revenue. Wal-Mart of course, is on top, followed by Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, Target, Walgreen, CVS, Lowe’s, Sears Holdings and Best Buy in descending order.

Though it’s by no means a new phenomenon, we still get blown away by Wal-Mart’s Shaq-like size. Its nearly $406 billion in revenue last year exceeds that of the next five retailers on the list COMBINED.

Wal-Mart is also making news for its support of employer-mandated health care, which is facing opposition from the National Retail Federation, which puts out Stores. We’re not going to weigh in on the health care debate (you readers are welcome to do that), but we admire that the NRF isn’t afraid to stand up to what must be one of its largest members.

Wal-Mart Ditches Monthly Sales Reports

Monthly retail sales are going to get a lot harder to track.

The largest retailer in the world announced that it will not longer supply its monthly sales results. “The company stressed that the move is a way to focus on the long-term view, but it also allows the company to escape the volatility that sometimes comes along with reporting monthly sales,” says this article.

Lowe’s, Home Depot Keep Taking Hits

Both Lowe’s and Home Depot reported their second quarters this week, and there weren’t many surprises.

Lowe’s experienced a same-store sales drop of 5.3% year over year, while Home Depot posted a 7.9% slide, due to continued weakness in the housing market. Additionally, Lowe’s earnings per diluted share were down 4.5%, and Home Depot’s fell 7.8%.

Is This Just the Beginning For Home Depot?

Today we report on Home Depot’s decision to abandon the opening of 50 new stores and close 15 stores. That might not seem like much considering that the chain has more than 2,200 stores, but we would image that few people would have predicted this a couple years ago.

It seems like every chain is pulling back from their ambitious expansion plans, from Starbucks to Kohl’s. We’re in an environment where store closures and bankruptcies are expected.

Don’t Like the Price? Just Haggle

A New York Times article from earlier this week kind of freaks us out. Apparently you can go into a big-box store like Best Buy, Circuit City or Home Depot and haggle down prices.

We would expect this kind of behavior to take place at a crafts fair or in an antique shop, but at big chain stores? Certainly, we have never tried this tactic when shopping and wouldn’t expect a very good response from a salesperson. “Hey, can you knock a few bucks off of the price of the DVD?” It just doesn’t seem feasible.

Can Home Improvement Catch a Break?

Both Home Depot and Lowe’s this week have posted declining sales and earnings, and the two home-improvement leaders are also cutting back plans this year for new stores. Home Depot is cutting its new stores from earlier expectations of 100 to 35, while Lowe’s cut its units by 20, with 120 new locations in the works.