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SME's gonna fly..check this:
This from DOW JONES:
=Svc Merchandise Up-2: Shrs Up Despite Weak Same-Store Sa
by: tech_stock_trader 2002 of 2005
-- =Svc Merchandise Up-2: Shrs Up Despite Weak Same-Store Sales --
By Raymond Hennessey
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Service Merchandise Co. (SME) has joined a string of
companies swept up by Internet euphoria.
Shares of the retailer were trading more than 33% higher Thursday on market
rumors the company planned to offer its products over the Internet.
NYSE-listed shares of the company were up recently 7/16, or 33%, to 1 3/4,
though the stock had been as high as 2 1/16.
Volume was especially high. By early afternoon, more than 12 million shares
had changed hands, compared with average daily volume of 405,000.
The trading was especially unusual, observers said, because the company on
Wednesday reported lackluster preliminary sales figures for the first part of
the holiday season.
For the period from Sept. 28 to Nov. 29, Service Merchandise said, same-store
sales fell in the "low teens" on a percentage basis. Jewelry sales were up in
"the high-single-digit range," while hardline sales were down "in the high-teens
range," the company said.
But traders said Thursday that the rumors about possible Internet sales were
enough to overshadow the disappointing results.
Individual investors especially have been "scouring the landscape" to find any
company that might be eligible to join the Internet frenzy, said J.C. Bradford &
Co. analyst Gary Dennis.
Service Merchandise has had some Web sales already, though the company had not
been actively advertising the availability of Internet sales, Dennis said.
"It's been more of a soft sell," he said.
Most the company's sales come from 354 stores in 34 states, according to
company figures. Earlier this year, Service Merchandise changed its retail
strategy from a catalog showroom chain to a retailer that focuses on jewelry and
gift items.
Simply offering products over the Internet has been a catalyst for a meteoric
rise in shares of late. Last week, Didax Inc. (AMEN) unveiled a Christian music
World Wide Web site and shares rose from 3 3/4 before the announcement to a
52-week high of 40 by Monday.
Didax shares have since fallen back below 10.
Officials from Service Merchandise couldn't immediately be reached for
comment.
The company's Web site was down Thursday afternoon. Dennis said that might be
attributable to heavier-than-usual volume on the part of individual investors
trying to get a look at what Service Merchandise already offers on the Internet.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 12-03-98
01:54 PM- - 01 54 PM EST 12-03-98
Symbols:
US;SME
Source DJ - Dow Jones
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