Courtesy of Mish.
Holiday sales of electronics and toys plunged this past Christmas season. Also of note, JPMorgan lowered its annualized 4th quarter GDP estimates down to .8% from 1.5%. Nonetheless, analysts see a silver lining to the data. They always do.
Toys R Us Sales Decline 4.5%
MSN Money reports Gloomy Holiday Sales at Toys R Us
Toys R Us reported a key sales figure declined in November and December, hurt by weak demand for videogames, electronics and toys and shoppers who pulled back because of Superstorm Sandy.
“We believe our December sales were impacted by softness in the overall markets for videogames, electronics and toys, and by the uncertain economic environment in the U.S. and abroad,” said CEO Jerry Storch.
The privately held toy store owner said revenue from domestic stores open at least one year fell 4.5 percent in the U.S. in November and December combined. In December alone, that figure fell 1.8 percent. The company operates more than 800 namesake and Babies R Us stores in the U.S. and another 600-plus stores overseas.
Best Buy Sales Flat to Down
USA Today reports Best Buy sales flat or down during holidays
Struggling consumer electronics chain Best Buy said Friday that a key revenue metric declined during the critical holiday season.
But its flat performance in the U.S. was better than the past several quarters, and online revenue showed strong growth.
The chain said revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.4% for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. This figure is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.
The company’s U.S. performance was flat. While this was a hair below the 0.3% increase Best Buy reported in the prior-year period, President and CEO Hubert Joly said in a statement that it was an improvement over the past several quarters.
Revenue at stores open at least a year declined 6.4% internationally, stung by softness in China and Canada….
