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F&D Reports/Creditntell Releases Retail Real Estate: Store Activity & Retailer Health AnalysisGreat Neck, NY, Nov 14, 2012 (PRWeb.com via COMTEX) -- Industry-leading credit consulting firm Information Clearinghouse, Inc. (ICI), through its divisions F&D Reports and Creditntell, are pleased to announce the release of the latest "Retail Real Estate: Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis." The analysis highlights the recent improvement in supply and demand trends, as developers have all but stopped building new properties and retailers have been more selective in their expansion while favoring smaller and more efficient locations. After spinning off two of its businesses, Sears Holdings has closed well over 100 locations in the last year. SUPERVALU recently announced the closing of 60 underperforming stores as part of its ongoing strategic review, while Best Buy trimmed 57 big-box locations from its count with more closings likely to be announced in the coming months. Further, our analysis identifies which retailers may be in line to close stores going forward based on our proprietary credit ratings and recent sales trends. Looking ahead, with Amazon putting intense pressure on essentially every retailer in every segment, offering low prices and convenience (introducing same-day delivery in certain cities), it is critical that the brick-and-mortar player find other ways to compete efficiently and effectively. We believe certain industry segments are at greater risk than others. Obviously, any retailer primarily selling products that can be converted into a digital format are most at risk, and we expect to see a continued shift to digital books, music, movies, and video games. However, the risk transcends digital; toys, sporting goods and electronics are increasingly being purchased online, contributing to the recent lackluster results at Toys "R" Us' retail stores and declining comparable store sales at Best Buy locations. As internet sales continue to gain broadening acceptance, Amazon will likely take additional market share away from brick-and-mortar retailers unless they further develop their cyber footprint. Please email foa(at)creditntell(dot)com if you would like a complimentary copy of our Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis. ICI's "Retail Real Estate: Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis" report holds a magnifying glass to each Company for an overview of performance, store count, credit rating, average store size, future plans for store closings/openings and more. Please click here for a look at future 2012-2013 closings/layoffs in the ARMS TNT Tracker. Commenting on the "Retail Real Estate: Store Activity & Retailer Health Analysis" report, Lawrence Sarf, CEO of ICI, stated, "As we indicate in our analyses, we expect retailers to continue downsizing their store locations to improve efficiencies and profitability, which will allow them to better compete on price against the likes of Walmart and Amazon. Retail will not go away; it will continue to evolve. However, that evolution is going to create space that will not be easily placed, with a new tenant requiring more imaginative potential uses." Information Clearinghouse, Inc. (publisher of F&D Reports, Creditntell, & ARMS) is a premier retail 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, http://www.creditntell.com, http://www.fdarms.com. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/11/prweb10134406.htm PRWeb.com |