In The News
TraQline – Stevenson Co. Sponsoring HIRI Fall Conference
HIRI event will explore the future of home improvement
(Aug. 23) The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) will examine the future of home improvement with advice on dealing with opportunities and challenges during its 2010 Fall Conference in Chicago Oct. 13.
The HIRI conference is open to both members and non-members and will kick off with an 8:00 a.m. welcome followed by a string of seven research-based presentations. The presentations include “Understanding today’s pro customer — purchase behavior and attitudes of the remodeler and builder markets” and “Home improvement future-forward: What’s ahead and what it means for home improvement.”
A full agenda can be found on HIRI’s website.
The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile, and is sponsored by The Farnsworth Group, ICR, Synovate, TNS and The Stevenson Co. Discounts are available for early registration.
On the day after the conference, HIRI will host a members-only “Future of home improvement workshop,” from 8 a.m. to noon.
*Excerpted from Home Channel News at http://www.homechannelnews.com/story.aspx?id=149737&menuid=267
TraQline Data Updated!
The Q2 2010 Data has been updated on the TraQline website. Login above to access your information or contact us for access to TraQline.
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Top 25 PC Retailers released
TWICE has released its top 25 PC retailers using The Stevenson Company as the analysts.
CE Top 100 Listing Released
NEW YORK — Retail sales of consumer electronics products rose 1.8 percent last year for the industry’s 100 largest dealers. Their total haul: $121.3 billion, up from $119.1 billion in 2008.
Not a bad take for the worst year of the worst recession in decades.
But the numbers, which came by way of the TWICE Top 100 CE Retailers report, our annual review of the state of electronics retailing, reveal a tale of two cities in 2009, as some businesses saw their fortunes soar and others rode out the clock to oblivion. Most Top 100 dealers took a licking with single and double-digit declines last year, but lived to see another day….The rankings, compiled by TWICE research partner The Stevenson Company of Louisville, Ky., reconfirmed the concentration of CE buying power among a handful of chains. The 10 largest dealers accounted for 74 percent of Top 100 volume last year, while those ranked 26th through 100th together represented less than 10 percent of sales.
Sears’ Web site pledges savings
YARD-CARE ADVICE | Retailer vows to match lower prices from competitors
April 9, 2010
BY SANDRA GUY Staff Reporter
Now that spring is here, shoppers searching for lawn mowers and tractors can check a new Web site to find the best price and features: SearsYardGuru.com….Sears held 20.3 percent of the share of dollars consumers spent at the end of 2009, compared with 16.2 percent for Lowe’s and 14.7 percent for Home Depot, according to TraQline, the Stevenson Co. report that tracks such information….Craftsman dominates the powered walk-behind mower market, with 23 percent of the share of dollars consumers spent as of the end of 2009, while John Deere is the leader in the tractor division, with a 32.5 percent share, according to TraQline.
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Wal-Mart March Sales
By JOHN JANNARONE: Wall Street Journal
Ah, the good old days. Sales were booming, margins were on the rise, and customer-traffic growth never seemed to slow. If only the recession could have lasted.
Wal-Mart Stores might have had that wish Thursday, as some rivals reported impressive March sales. Target reported 10% higher same-store sales. Wal-Mart doesn’t report monthly data, but its most recent U.S. same-store sales, for its fiscal fourth quarter, were down. No surprise then that Wal-Mart’s stock was virtually flat Thursday, while Target rose 3%.
Investors are right to treat Wal-Mart with caution. The company is unlikely to benefit much from a consumer recovery. While Target’s same-store sales historically have a 60% correlation with the government’s core retail-sales data, Wal-Mart’s correlation is just 8%, according to Colin McGranahan of Sanford C. Bernstein. The relationship appears to be holding up. Core retail-sales growth has been positive every month since November. In the three months ending in January, Wal-Mart’s U.S. store traffic declined slightly, while Target’s rose 2%.
[nuwalmartherd] Reuters
In some product categories, Wal-Mart already has lost market share. Wal-Mart’s share of small kitchen appliances fell to 30.2% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from 33.4% a year earlier, according to research firm TraQline. Target’s share, meanwhile, rose to 13.1% from 12.6%.
Related
* Wal-Mart Bets on Reduction in Prices
True, Wal-Mart’s price advantage over rivals such as grocers should remain an advantage. But grocers have become more competitive. J.P. Morgan’s Charles Grom says the price difference between items purchased at Wal-Mart and average grocers has narrowed to 12% from 18% in April 2009. J.P. Morgan compared identical baskets of groceries.
Even so, Wal-Mart’s stock, trading at a discount to Target of only one earnings-multiple point, is no bargain.
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Wal-Mart’s Vudu in Hollywood
Heard on the Street: Wal-Mart’s Vudu in Hollywood —- By Martin Peers
Cable operators, you have been warned.
If anything underscores the long-term threat to cable companies’ video service from the Internet, it is Wal-Mart Stores’ purchase of Vudu — a video-on-demand (VOD) Web service. Investors in Time Warner Cable and Comcast must hope they pay attention
….
But this isn’t likely to persist. Wal-Mart has the clout with manufacturers to extend the number of TV’s compatible with Vudu. It sold 14.6% of flat-panel TVs in the third quarter, estimates TraQline.
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The Wall Street Journal via Dow Jones
[Financial Analysis and Commentary]
Martin Peers, Author – Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Mark your calendars
TraQline US, Services, Photo Behavior, Wireless Tracker dates:
Q1 ‘10 Apr. 21, 2010 Wed.
Q2 ‘10 Jul. 21, 2010 Wed.
Q3 ‘10 Oct. 21, 2010 Thur.
Q4 ‘10 Jan. 21, 2011 Fri.
TraQline Canada, PRO dates:
Q1 ‘10 Apr. 28, 2010 Wed.
Q2 ‘10 Jul. 28, 2010 Wed.
Q3 ‘10 Oct. 28, 2010 Thur.
Q4 ‘10 Jan. 28, 2011 Fri.
Need more information about TraQline’s consumer behavior and market share tracking surveys? Click “let’s talk” above!
TraQline US Data Has Been Released!
New TraQline US Data has been released!
Other Q4 09 TraQline Survey Data Available:
TraQline PRO – 1/28
TraQline Canada – 1/28
TraQline Wireless Tracker – 1/21
TraQline Photo Processing – 1/21
TraQline Services – Dec. results available 1/21
*Note TraQline US results are released on the 21st of the month unless this falls on a Saturday or Sunday. In this case, data release will be pushed back to Monday.
