I was up at Gurnee Mills in December, back when they still had the animal-motif Rainforest Cafe divider blocking off that part of the mall, and I also felt a little nervous about the expansion into that mall, since Gurnee Mills seems to cater more towards serious bargain hunters looking for deals on closeout merchandise instead of the more upscale, yuppie crowd at Woodfield. Hopefully the amusement park will attract plenty of people willing to spend a little on entertainment. At this point, I would have to trust RAIN's management's judgment, since their track record is pretty good so far.
Has anyone prepared a revenue and earnings model for the next few years on RAIN? I have Ladenburg Thalmann's research report, but it seems quite conservative and it only goes out to December 1997. Management has recently given us quite a bit of guidance in this area, so it should be fairly easy to whip one up, based on the number and square footage of the announced stores, the percentage of revenues that will be spent on development, the increasing margins of the retail operation, etc.
--BAT |
