75 Quotes by Richard Hastings

Consumers are benefiting from a combination of tax stimulus, new products, good apparel fashions and compelling prices.

The additional cash on the balance sheet from the asset sales will put Kmart in a position to further reduce debt and possibly buyback more shares in a move that could boost share prices further, ... At the same time, the big cash position will enable management to look at an attractive range of choices, including the possibility at some point in the future of a major acquisition.

Their third-quarter profit was supported by a really solid quarter at Sam's Club. This shows again why Sam's matters so much to Wal-Mart's consolidated profitability, ... Smoother performance at Sam's has been a big plus recently, and it has to hold up in order to offset the rising influence of supermarket margins from the other division.

The consumer is jittery. Rising debt levels, inflation and higher gasoline prices are all real threats and a drag on spending.

I'm expecting the holidays to be a stimulating environment for (sales) growth, ... But the deeper discounts could also mean that profit margins will be off for some retailers.

If Wal-Mart's December comparable sales do go up 3 percent, that means they did much better in the last two weeks of the month,

It ended up a pretty good season. The retailers that didn't do well did it to themselves.

But higher costs were enough to hit operating income in the quarter, which grew only 7 percent, compared to a 7.4 growth rate for the comparable nine months. Despite these issues, the quarter held up very well and the holiday quarter should hold up nicely,

I continue to believe that the effects of higher gas prices on the consumer are overestimated. Most of the important measures of discretionary spending such as furniture, lawn and garden and food sales held up nicely.