Retail Search Group

Consumers continue to exceed projected spending patterns, delivering a 5.1% overall increase for September. This is significantly above the 4.6% increase projected for the month by Thomson Reuters. With September being a bell weather month for holiday sales we have every reason to believe that holiday 2011 could generate the strongest sales growth since the recession’s beginning in 2007.

High-Highs
Fashion right retailers continue to dominate, separating themselves from those floundering in yester-year merchandising strategies. Fashion department stores are competing head-to-head with fashion specialty. Saks delivered 9.3% comparable store growth for September. Macys just delivered a young men’s fashion line that boldly positions them as the one to watch. Macys delivered a 4.9% increase for September. Nordstrom posted 10.7% growth for September, contrasted to Gap’s -4.0% performance. Expect significant changes to Gap’s Merchant team to stop the bleeding. Limited brands up 11.0% and Buckle up 10.3%. Consumers are spending!

And, fashion is selling in home store as well. Pier 1 led the home area with a 10.8% increase for September. Visit a store and you’ll understand why – coordinated fashion statements abound.

The Mainstream
Discount retailers like Costco continue to dominate their spaces. Costco delivered 12% growth for September.

Some Fall Short
JC Penney continues to slide, with sales down 0.6% for September. This is a stark contrast to Target +5.3% and Kohl’s +4.1% for the same period. JCP is failing to deliver the fashion content needed to attract customers into their stores. Fashion talent delivers the right assortments – an area JCP needs to scrutinize closely.

Retail Employment Growing
Seamus Kelleher, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at MRI Network, shared that, “A variety of retailers saw modest employment gains, including food and beverage, health and personal care, and general merchandise stores. In total, retail trade added 13,600 positions, a relatively small gain on its 14.5 million workers, though the types of stores that are seeing gains is telling.” And, gains across the industry are broad based. For example, Tiffany posted 22% comparable store increase for second quarter.

Talent Wars
The Economist just dedicated an entire issue to The Quest for Jobs. The U.S. is facing a huge talent shortage. Competition for experienced management is increasing rapidly. Workers are demanding more of employers in the form of both cash and non-cash compensation. Expect to see more of this through the balance of 2011 and 2012. If your organization is active in succession planning the time invested will yield an excellent return in the coming years.

The leading brands in retail engage our services because we deliver the top performing candidates. We cold call and attract the best talent from the competition, then deliver them to our Client partners. Be a part of the winning retail team, be a part of Retail Search Group. Since beginning in 1985 we’re in our 26th year dedicated to attracting and placing retail professionals.

Our highly tenured retail team delivers recruiting expertise in the following areas:
Retail Finance & Accounting
Buying and Global Product Development
Merchandise Planning & Allocation
Retail Field Operations
Human Resources
Distribution Services
Retail Multi-Channel Marketing
Visual Presentation

Click here for September National Retail Sales Results