F&D Reports / Creditntell Release 2018 Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis
GREAT NECK, N.Y. (PRWEB) May 22, 2018 -- Industry-leading retail consulting firm Information Clearinghouse, Inc. (ICI), through its F&D Reports and Creditntell divisions, has announced the release of its annual Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis report, integrating ICI’s comprehensive retail coverage, predictive measuring tools and mapping technology, with leading store locational data provided by AggData.com.
While store closings continue to dominate the headlines, and news outlets herald the demise of retail, the current cycle of competition and disruption in retail has, in actuality, forged a path to success for a number of retailers with adequate capital to position themselves through an omnichannel presence and competitive pricing initiatives. In contrast to the present focus on industry headwinds, a number of companies are expanding their store bases, some at an impressive rate. F&D Reports’ / Creditntell’s store activity tracking, through its Retail Openings and Closings report (ROC™), has found that store openings are actually outpacing closings; as a whole, the retail industry has announced over 1,100 future net store openings thus far in 2018.
In addition to increasing store counts and ramping up e-commerce capabilities, some companies are making inroads by offering what ‘e-tail’ cannot -- experiential customer engagement -- and others by diversifying their business models through strategic investments to differentiate themselves from competition and to offer customer solutions that extend beyond the product. On the other end of the spectrum, select retailers have opted to leverage their balance sheets to rapidly expand, aggressively repurchase stock, or pay management hefty dividends. These decisions ultimately expose them to mounting competition, while the large cash requirements to meet interest obligations prevent further store-level investments, expansion and/or price cuts to remain competitive. The companies that can afford to sacrifice on margin today in return for market share will be rewarded tomorrow, as weaker competitors fold under the pressure.
The challenge ahead is identifying which retailers are best positioned for future growth. To that end, the Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis report explores the movement of some of the largest companies across a number of retail sectors, including Macy’s, Sears / Kmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Kroger, Supervalu, Dine Brands Global, Dick’s Sporting Goods, BJ’s Wholesale Club and J. Crew Group, and provides each company’s store activity, TTM EBITDA margin and credit ratings. The report also identifies those retailers that are growing their brick-and-mortar locations, including TJX, ALDI, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Walmart, Tractor Supply, Darden Restaurants and H&M. The report utilizes AggData’s locational and store activity data to understand gains and losses in major metro areas, a key element in ICI’s continued focus on providing predictive analysis of site location within the retail landscape.
Commenting on the Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis, ICI CEO Lawrence Sarf stated, “The current retail landscape can be characterized by the oft-quoted words of Mark Twain when responding to his obituary, ‘the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.’ As demonstrated in our annual update, retail continues to thrive for those companies that have remained vigilant in anticipating consumer behavior and have established an omnichannel platform serving both e-commerce and brick and mortar. Both fill a critical need and remain vibrant.”
Please click here to request a copy of the 2018 Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis report.
Information Clearinghouse, Inc. (publisher of F&D Reports & Creditntell) is a leading credit consulting firm specializing in the analysis of public and private companies in numerous retail segments. The focus of its analysis is to deliver the key intelligence today’s busy credit executive needs to make a highly informed decision without sifting through pages of non-essential data. To learn more, visit our websites at http://www.fdreports.com and http://www.creditntell.com.
Josh Suffin, F&D Reports, http://www.fdreports.com, +1 (800) 789-0123 Ext: 172, [email protected]
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