High-End, Or Dead End?

Strapped consumers pull back as the height of the retail season nears, but is there any hope for M&A in the beaten-down sector?

November 10, 2008

An admittedly nervous manager of the cosmetics counter at New York's Century 21 department store has noticed the slowdown. A window shopper in front of that store says he's cutting his holiday-spending budget by 30%. And while shoppers from Italy to Mexico to Canada are out in force on a crisp November night, most said they are spending less. They all have their reasons to be cautious--a dramatically slowing economy, concerns about jobs and bloated credit card debt, among other things--but it all adds up to the same thing: a bleak outlook for the retail sector just as the most important time of the year rolls around.

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