How Could This Be? Another Lib Myth Busted

Hey folks,

Here is another Lib Myth busted. Again, the Mass Media Drones are shocked and amazed.

President Bush, as we all know, is a failure on all things. He is a Hatemonger, Warmonger, Big Business Loving, Friend of the rich. His taxes cuts have ruined the economy, and his War loving ways have helped destroyed the economy.

We need the Libs and the New Democratic Party to swoop in and save the day with Universal Health Care, higher taxes, and a redistribution of wealth. The Economy is about to go into a recession and it’s ALL Bush and those evil Republicans fault.

We have heard all kinds of news stories about how this years “Black Friday," was going to be a bust. That the retailers that rely on this, the busiest shopping day of the year, are not going to see the profits they rely so heavily on. This is a nightmare waiting to happen.

So what ACTUALLY happened? Well, according to the AP - Despite economy, malls and stores jammed

The nation's retailers had a robust start to the holiday shopping season, according to results announced Saturday by a national research group that tracks sales at retail outlets across the country.

WAIT STOP!!!! {Laughing} Since I saved this, they have changed the story! It is NOW entitled Retailers post robust start to holidays, lets see what else they have changed, SHALL we? Here is the ORIGINAL.

Malls and stores were jammed for pre-dawn discounts on everything from TVs to toys on the official start of Christmas shopping as consumers shrugged off worries about rising gas prices and falling home values.

The aggressive tactics — bigger discounts and expanded hours like midnight openings — apparently worked Friday. Based on early reports, Macy's Inc., Toys "R" Us, K-B Toys Inc. and others that pushed big price cuts, reported bigger crowds for the early morning bargains than a year ago. Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said they were also pleased with the shopper turnout.

They HAVE to because the economy is so bad. Right?

Electronic gadgets, particularly the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii, topped shoppers' wish lists, though frustrations were high among consumers who couldn't get their hands on the limited bargains.

With the economy relying heavily on the consumer, however, it's crucial that the Black Friday euphoria lasts throughout the season, expected to be the weakest in five years.

DOOM and GLOOM!

"I'm really looking for the bargains this year because I'm losing my job; they're moving our plant to Mexico after the first of the year, so I have to be careful," said Tina Dillow of New Richmond, Ohio, who camped out at a Best Buy store near Cincinnati at 3 a.m. because of a great deal on a laptop.

Louise Jackson of Chesapeake, Va., arrived at the MacArthur Center, a mall in downtown Norfolk, Va., at 7:30 a.m., a half hour before it opened.

"We're just browsing, to see what's out here, to see if there's anything that would be worth it," she said. By 9:30 a.m., she hadn't bought anything, although she did place a pair of pants for herself on hold at Nordstrom. Her only shopping strategy was to keep an eye out for good deals.

"The tougher economic conditions are driving more shoppers to take advantage of early bird specials," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group.

Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group Inc. agreed, but he noted shoppers were buying selectively. Overall, the biggest draws were consumer electronics, including flat-screen TVs, digital cameras, digital frames, and laptops. In toys, which have been battered by recalls of a slew of lead tainted Chinese toys, there were plenty of hits, including video games such as Activision Inc.'s "Guitar Hero III," toys related to Walt Disney Co.'s "Hannah Montana" and Smart Cycle from Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price, toy executives said.

It's going to be Horrible!! They do not have money for Christmas shopping. You know, except BIG TICKET ITEMS like electronics and Flat Screen TV. {Laughing}

Janet Hoffman, managing partner of the North American retail division of the consulting firm Accenture, believes that some parents, concerned about toy safety, may shift their purchases away from toys to video games and children's clothing. She added that sales of children's clothing fared unusually well Friday.

And while mainstream department stores such as Macy's and J.C. Penney Co., which hammered shoppers with big discounts Friday, seemed to pull in the crowds, traffic at mall-based apparel stores was disappointing, according to Wachovia Capital Markets LLC analyst John D. Morris. One problem is that there aren't a lot of must-have fashions.

Macy's chief executive, Terry Lundgren, said that 3,000 people started lining up at the Herald Square store at 5 a.m, forcing the store to open at 5:30 a.m., half hour earlier. That was up from about 2,500 people a year ago. Among some of the most popular early morning deals were Martha Stewart faux holiday trees, that were 50 percent off, and outerwear and sweaters, which were marked down by 40 percent to 50 percent.

"We all know that September and October were not great months, so there is some pent-up demand," Lundgren said. "We feel encouraged by the early signs."

Jerry Storch, chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us Inc., which unveiled 101 early morning bargains, four times the number last year, reported 1,000 people waiting in line for the 5 a.m. opening at the Manhattan store, double the number a year ago.

Macy's, Toys "R" Us and others with locations in big cities also enjoyed increased business from foreign shoppers reveling in exchange rates that made discounts even deeper.

Melissa O'Brien, spokeswoman at Wal-Mart, which offered such specials as a Polaroid 42-inch LCD HDTV for $798 and a $79.87 Sony digital camera, only said "we are excited about today." Among the most popular items were flat-panel TVs, and various toys, particularly from the "Transformers" line. Special offers on GPS units and digital frames were selling "very fast," she said.

Target's spokeswoman Lena Michaud said traffic was strong based on a spot-check of stores. Gail Lavielle, spokeswoman at Sears Holdings Inc., which operates Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart stores, reported traffic increases from a year ago.

Best Buy Co. drew more than a thousand shoppers to West Paterson, N.J. and to its Manhattan store for early morning bargains on Sony laptop computers, cut to $399.99 from $749.99, and GPS devices from TomTom for $119.99, from the normal $249.99, according to store managers.

Now the NEW version, SAME link.

The nation's retailers had a robust start to the holiday shopping season, according to results announced Saturday by a national research group that tracks sales at retail outlets across the country.

Despite all the doom and gloom reporting.

According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets, total sales rose 8.3 percent to about $10.3 billion on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, compared with $9.5 billion on the same day a year ago. ShopperTrak had expected an increase of no more than 4 percent to 5 percent.

READ that again. "total sales rose 8.3 percent to about $10.3 billion on Friday"

"This is a really strong number. ... You can't have a good season unless it starts well," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, citing strength across all regions. "It's very encouraging. When you look at September and October, shoppers weren't in the stores."

In a separate statement released Saturday, J.C. Penney Co. reported "strong performance across all merchandise categories," including fine jewelry, outerwear, and young men's and children's assortments.

But the department store chain cautioned, "while we are encouraged by our strong start, it is still early in the holiday season, and we are mindful of the headwinds consumers are facing."

WAIT, there is STILL hope for doom and gloom.

J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other major retailers are expected to report same-store results for November on Dec. 6. Same-store sales are those at stores opened at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's strength.

The upbeat reports were encouraging since merchants have been struggling with anemic sales in recent months, as shoppers, particularly in the middle and lower-income brackets, were becoming more frugal amid higher gas and food prices and an escalating credit crunch.

So "amid" all the doom and gloom, they INCREASED their spending. How could this be?

In an apparent sign of desperation, the nation's stores ushered in the official start of the holiday shopping season on Friday with expanded hours, including midnight openings, and a blitz of early morning specials that were more generous than a year ago. J.C. Penney and Kohl's Corp. opened at 4 a.m., an hour earlier than a year ago.

They are trying to keep the dream alive for the doom and gloom crowd folks. This is a completely asinine statement. "In an apparent sign of desperation." They open yearly and stay open late and offer GREAT deals EVERY year. This is not new. "Oh yes Pete, but some opened an hour earlier." SO? Maybe they wanted to increase their profits for increased profit sake. Who cares if SOME opened an hour earlier.

The strategy appears to have worked, as shoppers jammed stores in record numbers for early morning deals on Friday. Martin noted that judging by the strong figures on Friday, stores were able to sustain strong sales throughout the day. He said he's counting on strong traffic throughout the weekend as many stores, including Macy's Inc., are continuing with special deals.

While Black Friday — so named because it was traditionally when the surge of shopping made stores profitable — starts holiday shopping, it is not considered a bellwether for the season. However, merchants see Black Friday as setting an important tone to the overall season: What consumers see that day influences where they will shop for the rest of the year.

This really is too much folks. They just said to you, and want you to believe. "Yeah, the numbers are good, but they don't mean anything. It's just one day, the Economy sucks and we are still heading to a recession." {sigh}

Last year, retailers had a good start during the Thanksgiving weekend, but many stores struggled in December, and a shopping surge just before and after Christmas wasn't enough to make up for lost sales.

This year, the Washington-based National Retail Federation predicted that total holiday sales would be up 4 percent for the combined November and December period, the slowest growth since a 1.3 percent rise in 2002. Holiday sales rose 4.6 percent in 2006 and growth has averaged 4.8 percent over the last decade.

They also predicted a complete bust this year. Let's just say that they are RIGHT. It rises 4 percent. Growth does NOT rise during recessions.

So this was interesting. Same link, same reporter, ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, two COMPLETELY different stories. Can you say CYA.
Peter