The retail sector according to Domini Chu, on CNBC, has experienced both upswings and downswings this year. Some of the big winners according to the reporter are Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) that is up by 12%, Kate Spade & Co (NYSE:KATE) up by 18% and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) at 24%. On the downside, the hard hits took: Coach Inc. (NYSE:COH) – down by 40%: Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) – down by 32%, DSW Inc. (NYSE:DSW) at 35% in red and Container Store Group Inc (NYSE:TCS) is down 49%.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is one of the top movers in the retail sector up by 24% this year and almost on record levels. “This is a stock that is near record highs right now, it shows you that the high-end consumer discretionary side of things for home furnishing and goods is still very descent,” said Mr. Chu.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) reported impressive first quarter financials in which revenues were up by 9.7% to $974 million with operating income consequently increasing by 16.5% to $74 million. Multi-brand and multichannel platform continues to drive consistent market gains providing the company with the ongoing competitive advantage. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s CEO, Laura Alber has already reiterated that the company is focused on executing all its growth strategies while also returning maximum capital to shareholders.
Container Store Group Inc (NYSE:TCS), on the other hand, is one of the retail stores that continues to face immense pressure and competition in the market seen by the fact that its stock is already 49% down, this year. Container Store reported its earnings but with dire forecast earnings for the coming months. For the first quarter of its fiscal 2014, the company posted an adjusted net loss of $3.6 million, or $0.07 per share, down from a loss of $3.2 million a year earlier.
“The Container Store reported earnings that came out with perhaps one of the more dire forecasts for the coming months the CEO basically said that people are spending on big ticket items like cars and houses but not on some other stuff.” said Mr. Chu.
Container Store Group Inc (NYSE:TCS) and William-Sonoma are two different stories in the market despite trading on the same retail space. Container store reported sluggish sales for the first quarter citing harsh weather conditions and calendar shifts as some of the reasons that affected sales. The company’s CEO, Kip Tindell, has already defended the company saying that the first quarter by natural is always the weakest quarter for the company.
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