To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (95575 ) 3/5/2000 5:57:00 PM From: H James Morris Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 164684
Glenn, true. But when you talk about e-commerce I think your referring from retail to the consumer. Btw I sold *all* of my Wal-Mart the first week in Jan. I bought *some* back last week around 50. Why? Well Wal-Mart increased their dividend 20% to 6c ps. They also brought in a Pro to go after Amzn. Imhop, the problem Wmt.com faces is going into a money losing venture, while everyone knows the real profits are in bricks and water. Btw Wal-Mart will be offering every one of its 'customers' a free PC, and later a discounted cell phone for internet access for just $5pm. Just like Ford and Delta have already done for their employees. >San Francisco, March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Gap Inc., the No. 2 U.S. clothing chain, fell 7.6 percent after the head of its Banana Republic chain resigned to become chief executive of Wal- Mart Stores Inc.'s Internet venture. Gap fell 3 5/8 to 44 1/4 in trading of 6.1 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Jeanne Jackson, 48, had been chief executive of the upscale Banana Republic stores since 1996, and for the past two years led Gap's Internet business. ``I'm a little bit concerned that Mickey (Drexler) may get stretched a little thin as they search for a successor,' said A.G. Edwards analyst Bob Buchanan, who has a ``neutral' rating on Gap shares. Gap also said yesterday that February same-store sales rose 4 percent, which was below or on the low end of some analysts' forecasts. The sales results included a slight decline at the Gap chain as the stores marked down prices on leftover January merchandise to make way for spring fashions. ``They had more clearance merchandise than the previous year,' said analyst Rick Snyder of Morgan Keegan who has an ``outperform' rating on the shares. ``That is not a surprise, but in itself is a slight negative.' Banana Republic Jackson was highly regarded at Gap for her role in increasing sales at 345-store Banana Republic chain. Last year, Banana Republic's same-store sales rose by a low-double digit percentage, compared with relatively unchanged sales at Gap's namesake stores. ``Banana Republic has been a big growth vehicle and (her departure) could hurt them,' said Michael Prospero, a retail analyst at Blackford Securities. So-called same-store sales are a key measure of a retailer's business because they exclude new and closed locations. Jackson also was chief executive of Gap Inc. Direct, which includes Gap's Internet business and Banana Republic's catalog.