"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc  are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March (Editing by Michele Gershberg and Matthew Lewis) 
Share:  <span class="sent">"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst <span class="analyst">Christine Chen</span></span> Urban Outfitters and <span class="company">Guess</span> Inc  are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March (Editing by Michele Gershberg and Matthew Lewis) Tweet this 

"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March 
Share:  <span class="sent">"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst <span class="analyst">Christine Chen</span></span> Urban Outfitters and <span class="company">Guess</span> Inc are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March Tweet this 

Guess?, Inc (GES) reported results and watched the stock pop off it's bottom. Imagine an apparel brand that is doing well in this economy. I guess people buy fancy jeans to make themselves feel good. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Guess?, Inc (<span class="company">GES</span>) reported results and watched the stock pop off it's bottom. Imagine an apparel brand that is doing well in this economy. </span> I guess people buy fancy jeans to make themselves feel good. Tweet this 

Guess's better than expected earnings suggest that more consumers are returning to its stores. Guess Chief Executive Officer Paul Marciano was upbeat about the third quarter results. "Each of our businesses performed better than expected in both revenues and earnings, as our customer continued to respond well to our product assortment in all markets around the world. In addition, we managed well, controlling our costs and inventories tightly to protect our profitability," he said in a company statement. The stores' revenues were led by women's clothing with better performers including denim, leggings, woven tops, jackets and tees, according to a Dec. 1 report by Betty Chen, a vice president of equity research at Wedbush Securities, an investor services firm.  
Share:  <span class="company">Guess</span>'s better than expected earnings suggest that more consumers are returning to its stores. <span class="company">Guess</span> Chief Executive Officer Paul Marciano was upbeat about the third quarter results. "Each of our businesses performed better than expected in both revenues and earnings, as our customer continued to respond well to our product assortment in all markets around the world. In addition, we managed well, controlling our costs and inventories tightly to protect our profitability," he said in a company statement. <span class="sent"> The stores' revenues were led by women's clothing with better performers including denim, leggings, woven tops, jackets and tees, according to a Dec. 1 report by <span class="analyst">Betty Chen</span>, a vice president of equity research at Wedbush Securities, an investor services firm. </span>...<span class="company">Guess</span>'s better than expected earnings suggest that more consumers are returning to its stores. <span class="company">Guess</span> Chief Executive Officer Paul Marciano was upbeat about the third quarter results. "Each of our businesses performed better than expected in both revenues and earnings, as our customer continued to respond well to our product assortment in all markets around the world. In addition, we managed well, controlling our costs and inventories tightly to protect our profitability," he said in a company statement. <span class="sent"> The stores' revenues were led by women's clothing with better performers including denim, leggings, woven tops, jackets Tweet this 

Guess? Inc ( GES , Analyst Report ) reported third quarter results with earnings of 69 cents per share, which was a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents. Quarterly earnings were up 3% year over year. Net sales for the quarter were almost flat year over year increasing 1% to $522 million, primarily driven by strong retail sales in North American and Asia, partially offset by decrease in sales in the European segment. 
Share:  <span class="sent"><span class="company">Guess?</span> Inc ( GES , Analyst Report ) reported third quarter results with earnings of 69 cents per share, which was a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents. </span> Quarterly earnings were up 3% year over year. Net sales for the quarter were almost flat year over year increasing 1% to $522 million, primarily driven by strong retail sales in North American and Asia, partially offset by decrease in sales in the European segment. Tweet this 

tags: GES , AEO , ANF , AFL , DEER     . discuss this article and more on the mv exchange . No positions in stocks mentioned. Get real time options trading ideas from Steve Smith , veteran options trader and newsletter author, plus let him show you the way to cut risk and boost your returns through the strategic use of options.  
Share:  tags: <span class="company">GES</span> , AEO , ANF , AFL , DEER     . discuss this article and more on the mv exchange . No positions in stocks mentioned. <span class="sent"> Get real time options trading ideas from <span class="analyst">Steve Smith</span> , veteran options trader and newsletter author, plus let him show you the way to cut risk and boost your returns through the strategic use of options. </span> Tweet this 

Breaking into new markets can be tricky, though. British consumers initially spurned Guess when the company opened its first store in Covent Garden in 2005, a result of "product design which was done in Florence and reflected a style that may not have been appropriate for northern Europe," said Jeffrey Black, director of equity research at Barclays Capital ( BCS ) in New York in a recent research report.  
Share:  Breaking into new markets can be tricky, though. <span class="sent"> British consumers initially spurned <span class="company">Guess</span> when the company opened its first store in Covent Garden in 2005, a result of "product design which was done in Florence and reflected a style that may not have been appropriate for northern Europe," said <span class="analyst">Jeffrey Black</span>, director of equity research at Barclays Capital ( BCS ) in New York in a recent research report. </span> Tweet this 

The European bounce began after 2005, when, after years of lackluster performance in the Old World, Guess acquired an Italian company to which it had previously licensed its European jeanswear business. "We lost control of the Guess product and brand integrity under our licensee," Paul Marciano says. Under direct management, European sales have soared since then from $43 million to $719 million, now accounting for more than one third of the company's $2.1 billion in global sales. The Marcianos want to open more company owned retail stores in Europe to decrease their reliance on sales through other retailers, which now account for 80% of European sales (In the U.S., by contrast, only 20% of revenues are via wholesale distribution.) Guess is keen to move more merchandise through company owned stores to save on markups and gain tighter control over the brand. The company learned that lesson early this decade in the U.S., says Christine Chen, a senior retail analyst at San Francisco brokerage Needham , when it was overexposed and performing poorly.  
Share:  The European bounce began after 2005, when, after years of lackluster performance in the Old World, <span class="company">Guess</span> acquired an Italian company to which it had previously licensed its European jeanswear business. "We lost control of the <span class="company">Guess</span> product and brand integrity under our licensee," Paul Marciano says. Under direct management, European sales have soared since then from $43 million to $719 million, now accounting for more than one third of the company's $2.1 billion in global sales. The Marcianos want to open more company owned retail stores in Europe to decrease their reliance on sales through other retailers, which now account for 80% of European sales (In the U.S., by contrast, only 20% of revenues are via wholesale distribution.) <span class="company">Guess</span> is keen to move more merchandise through company owned stores to save on markups and gain tighter control over the brand. <span class="sent"> The company learned that lesson early this decade in the U.S., says <span class="analyst">Christine Chen</span>, a senior retail analyst at San Francisco brokerage Needham , when it was overexposed and performing poorly. </span>...Under direct management, European sales have soared since then from $43 million to $719 million, now accounting for more than one third of the company's $2.1 billion in global sales. The Marcianos want to open more company owned retail stores in Europe to decrease their reliance on sales through other retailers, which now account for 80% of European sales ( Tweet this 

Despite this, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Todd Slater on Wednesday downgraded True Religion and seven other similar retailers, including Los Angeles based Guess Inc., from "buy" to "hold," noting that companies have been maintaining earnings by cutting costs rather than increasing sales.  
Share:  <span class="sent">Despite this, Lazard Capital Markets analyst <span class="analyst">Todd Slater</span> on Wednesday downgraded True Religion and seven other similar retailers, including Los Angeles based <span class="company">Guess</span> Inc., from "buy" to "hold," noting that companies have been maintaining earnings by cutting costs rather than increasing sales. </span>...<span class="sent">Despite this, Lazard Capital Markets analyst <span class="analyst">Todd Slater</span> on Wednesday downgraded True Religion and seven other similar retailers, including Los Angeles based <span class="company">Guess</span> Inc., from "buy" to "hold," noting that companies have been maintaining earnings by cutting costs rather than increasing sales. </span> Tweet this