Listening to CNBC on the drive into work this morning. They were discussing retails stocks and had the Baird retail analyst on. She was quite bullish on J Crew. I love J Crew as a store to shop in, but I stay away from the retail sector (except for TIF), so when she said she thought one of the reasons it was a good buy here (they are reporting earnings after the bell today) is because “they provided good value for quality” I actually laughed out loud.
Let’s be clear – I love-love J Crew. Half of my closet is from there. Have loved them for years since I was kid (long before Michelle Obama started making it so popular – pfft.) But I would in no way ever say their full retail pricing was a good value. HA! Come on? Their quality IS good – better than the Gap brands are anymore, that’s for sure. But considering their price points are on items made in China now? Good value is not how I would describe J Crew. Cute, fun, comfy – sure.
I never buy anything full retail there. Well, that’s not true. I have probably bought 5 items full price. And 3 of them I was able to return shortly after I bought them and get them at a sale price. And I hate doing stuff like that but paying $295 for a blazer and then seeing it on sale for $110 about 1 month later – nope – going back for better price. Sorry.
So I think the Baird analyst needs to re-evaluate what she thinks “good value” is. Perhaps the stock is a good value – that’s questionable in my opinion (early 2009 was a GREAT VALUE!) but the retail sector is tough right now. Trading in 33 range today. Guess we’ll see tomorrow AM after earnings tonight.
I think I give them so much of my money IN the store, owning the stock as well might make sense ;) But TIF also reports tonight – I’d rather spend some money IN store there! :)
REVISED: http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN2621991720100826?rpc=44
Oops, guess the Baird analyst was wrong about it being a buy at 33….although after-market trades aren’t always indicative of tomorrow’s trading.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NY-court-revives-Tiffanys-apf-387846777.html?x=0&.v=2
I think TIF should take this to the Supreme Court. eBay knows damn well that so much of the designer items sold on their site are actually counterfeits. LVMH had huge issues with eBay and people selling fake LV bags there. Do a search for North Face, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Tiffany, Coach, Rock & Republic, True Religion, and any expensive purse line and what you get back in your search is 90% fakes. Heck – there used to be so many fake Beanie Baby auctions back when they were a huge craze, my bet is the market was saturated with more fakes than real ones.
The obvious ones are the auctions actually listing themselves in China. If you are dumb enough to buy your typically $1500 LV bag for $250 from China…well…fool…money…parted…
Also, auctions listed as being in Brooklyn and LA – don’t bid. Likely fake.
I feel that if eBay is making money off the sellers for selling their fakes, and advertising that they have all these brands for sale on their site, and they show up in search results, then they have some responsibility to make sure what they are offering is authentic.
eBay wants to market themselves as more of an Amazon or online marketplace and not just a junk-filled online flea market. They are really trying to make a push into fashion. Well – then you need to be more responsible. You can bet if Amazon, Saks or Neiman Marcus sold a fake it would be their problem to address.
Their often-issued argument that they allow the companies to patrol their site and request auctions to be shut down it BS. YOU (eBay) are making money off of items being sold by people on your site. And also through your Paypal fees when they sellers receive their payments. But you want ME (the company) to hire/pay someone to monitor your site to make sure you aren’t facilitating selling fakes??
Wrong. If you offered the eBay selling platform for free and made no money off of it – then fine. I can see that argument. But you do not. So step up and deal with the fact that you offer a huge platform for counterfeit sales. As the platform/facilitator it IS your problem.
…and a non-fat, no-carb, 0-calorie one can be even better…
My new Tiffany cupcake
Any girl can feel a little like Holly Golightly (or even better like Audrey) by just walking in the doors…I really *am* such a cliche.
