GLG News by GPS Controller Experts (North America)

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

A Reflection of Recessionary Times or Something Deeper?

February 24, 2009

Analysis of:RadioShack 4Q Net Drops 39% On Falling Margins, Sales | money.cnn.com

Declining revenues, declining margins, declining bottom line, and an undefined brand. The recession was sighted, but  if the recession ended tomorrow, would any of this be solved for Radio Shack? I don’t think so -- after listening to Radio Shack’s earnings call today, two critical questions are still unanswered: Where’s the real leverage for Radio Shack?  Who will define the Radio Shack brand?

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Tough Times For TV Makers

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Pioneer Exits TV Business As Losses Mount | www.twice.com

Consolidation is happening and there's more to come. Born out of a consumer love affair with flat panel TVs, the category quickly became over crowded. Now with a soft economy, about 1000 fewer U.S. storefronts than just a year ago (Circuit City; CC and Tweeter; TWTR were the largest to disappear) there‘s much less shelf space for what is still a very crowded field of brands, struggling to compete on price and selection.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Trade In To Trade Up - It's Time Has Come

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Dell Will Give You Gift Cards for Your Old Gadgets | www.pcmag.com

Consumers have been searching for an easy and smart way to get rid of their older electronics for years but it’s always been a difficult process for retailers to manage profitably. Now thanks to technology that's changed; question is who will stake claim to this solution.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Video Gamers - Predictable to Fickle, Serious To Silly, Can EA Make The Shift?

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Electronic Arts Reports Loss, Accelerates Cost Cuts | www.bloomberg.com

Worldwide sales of video game software grew 20% in 2008, outselling DVD and Blu-Ray for the first time. The good news is video games have clearly become much more popular with a much bigger audience.  Traditionally associated most with young males, now more young girls, men and women over 40 and females of all ages are playing than ever before - 97% of all teens now play video games regularly. The down side of this exploding popularity is a more fickle and less predictable audience, with very different preferences and behaviors than the “traditional” gamers.  Clearly this escaped Electronic Arts (NASDQ:ERTS) last year, with just one game in the top 10 titles for the year.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Studios Should Put Blu-ray Money Where It Counts Most - At Retail

November 11, 2008

Analysis of: Studios, consumer electronic firms to promote Blu-ray discs | www.latimes.com

Blu-ray is an impressive, but only an evolutionary, improvement in picture quality. It doesn’t offer lifestyle or use model changes, it costs more and has fewer titles available than standard DVD. Picture quality improvement is compelling to movie and video aficionados, but to the rest of, and most of, the world?   In today’s economy most shoppers are looking for new value for their money, or at least more value.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Store Closings Will Not Save Circuit City

November 4, 2008

Analysis of:UPDATED: Breaking: Circuit City Closing 155 Stores | consumerist.com

Momentum is pulling down CC fast.  Closing these stores is certainly not going to stop that, and will likely accelerate it.

David WorkmanExecutive DirectorPRO Group

Loss of Credit Rating Adds to a Very Risky Situation for Suppliers

October 13, 2008

Analysis of:CREDIT Circuit City Loses Recommendation | www.washingtonpost.com

Vendors will continue to support Circuit until at least the first part of December Companies will watch carefully the weekly trends over the next 45 days Vendors can easily create a "run on the bank" if one or two large suppliers change their terms significantly 

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Is This The End of Circuit City?

October 9, 2008

Analysis of:CREDIT Circuit City Loses Recommendation | www.washingtonpost.com

Credit managers are extremely nervous right now about many things outside of their control.  One thing they can control is limiting their risk.  Making the decision to cut off, or fatally limit, the credit of a long standing and large customer like Circuit City may be a hard decision to make, but with this change in recommendation by credit rating firm Bernard Sands, it just got much easier.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Knowledge Lead to Confidence, and Confidence Leads to Buying

October 2, 2008

Analysis of:Multchannel Consumers Favor Online-To-Store Shopping Experience | www.directmag.com

Study after study has proven that shoppers who browse, search and research online first and then buy in-store, spend more and return less.   The fact that 75% of multi-channel consumers prefer to move from clicks to bricks when shopping, while 7% reverse the direction is VERY good news for retailers, and the smartest retailers are making it as easy as possible for their customers to make the move from clicks to bricks, resulting in higher conversion rates, higher ticket, and higher customer satisfaction.

Cathy StaufferOwnerCathyStaufferConsulting

Circuit City's (new) Management Has A (new) Plan But It's Dependent On Others For It To Work.

September 30, 2008

Analysis of:Circuit City Posts Loss As Sales Woes Continue | online.wsj.com

In addition to loosing hundreds of millions of dollars and significant market share, letting things get so bad for so long has resulted in CC loosing control - now it's largely up to others if CC will survive.  1. Vendors - at this point vendors are on top – without vendor support there will no reason for consumers to come in. 2. Consumers - CC management is talking about regaining consumer “relevancy”. Consumers have long memories when it comes to a bad retail experience, but short if it means saving money.  CC must deliver a compelling, relevant message backed up by quality in-store execution if they hope to regain any consumer support for the holidays. 3. Employees -  If the front lines are disenfranchised, they disenfranchise customers.  CC must re-energize their front line employees immediately.

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