Macy's, Kohl's 'becoming yesterday’s news': Former Toys R US CEO
Bankrupt women's clothing retailer Charlotte Russe could start shuttering its stores if it can't find a buyer soon. If it closes, it would join high-profile brands such as Toys R Us and Bon-Ton.
Gerald Storch, who formerly ran Toys R Us and the Hudson’s Bay Company, said keeping up with the consumer is what it takes to succeed in the retail.
“Retail sales have been very strong this holiday [season]," Storch told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. “Of course there are winners and losers—the winners are the ones who are doing it right who are mastering the Internet and who are providing value to customers.”
Big retailers including Walmart, Target, Costco and Amazon are succeeding, according to Storch, while others like J.C. Penney, Sears, Macy’s and Kohl’s are “becoming yesterday’s news.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | MACY'S INC. | 14.97 | +0.41 | +2.78% |
| KSS | KOHL'S CORP. | 16.19 | -0.13 | -0.78% |
| JCP | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 198.37 | -4.51 | -2.22% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 88.54 | +1.35 | +1.55% |
| TGT | TARGET CORP. | 120.85 | -0.88 | -0.72% |
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 954.25 | +26.17 | +2.82% |
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said last week that U.S. retail sales tumbled 1.2 percent in December- their biggest drop in 9 years. However, Storch, who is now the CEO of U.S.-based retail consulting firm Storch Advisers, said the numbers aren’t as cut and dry as they seem.
"I know those folks work hard at the government to collect that data, but I think there's something missing there,” he said. “The world has changed."
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Storch also said the government figures showed Internet department stores underperformed over the holiday season.
"The raw data said that sales were up about 9% in December, but then they applied a negative 10% seasonality discount because it was December,” he said. “I'm not sure that discount factor was correct.”