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In late September and early October, we surveyed 20 Kohls locations and asked about the business activity level, inventories and best selling items. The survey asked the following questions.

 

 

1. How well is business today at your store?

2. Do you have excess inventory of any product or brand that will go on discount soon?

3. Do you think the weak housing market and economy are hurting business at your store?

4. What is the top selling brand of women’s clothing at your store?

 

• 37% of respondents described business at their store as “above average”. 63% saw business as “average”. 10% saw business as ”below average”.

• 90% of respondents cited having some excess inventory, although the bulk of these cited summer and seasonal items.

• 74% of respondents do believe that the economy and weak housing market are negatively impacting sales at their store. 11% said that the housing market and weak economy are not hurting sales. 15% were unsure of the impact of the broader economy or housing market.

• Sonoma and Apartment 9 were seen as the top selling women’s brand by 25% of respondents each.

 

Conclusion of Channel Check: Sales trend look mildly positive at Kohls. Excess inventory results are high by historical standards across our retail surveys. Concern over the economy and weak housing market are higher than expected. Top selling brands such as Apartment 9 are consistently near the top of Kohls sales of women’s apparel.

 

For access to the underlying survey or for more information, please contact Jason Katz at 415.867.0959 or jason@thechannelcheckers.com

In late September and early October, we surveyed 23 Harley dealerships about sales trends, stocking and pricing for Harley motorcycles in the U.S. The survey asked the following questions.

 

 

1. What is the best selling motorcylce right now?

2. Are you sold out of any models currently?

3. How is business compared to this time last year?

4. Has business picked up in the past month?

 

 

 

• 26% of respondents said that either the Street Glide or Electra Glide was the best selling model. 17% said that the Sportster was the best selling line.

• Over 70% of respondents said they were not sold out of any models. The remainder cited 2009 Sportsters specifically, but said they had stock of 2010 Sportster models. The Street Glide was cited as being sold out at one dealer while another cited the FLHR Road King.

• 57% of respondents said that business was the same as a year ago. 26% said business was better than last year. 17% said business was worse than last year.

• 43% of respondents stated that business was improving in the past month, while 57% said that business had not improved. Cash for clunkers was cited as a negative drawing business away in July and August. Anectdotally, one dealer reported being closed for a week on a temporary basis in September.

 

 

Conclusion of Channel Check: Harley dealers appear to be reporting stable business conditions across the board with some signs of improvement offset by a general report of flat sales compared to last year and to the previous few months.

 

For access to the underlying survey or for more information, please contact Jason Katz at 415.867.0959 or jason@thechannelcheckers.com

 

In late September and early October, we surveyed 19 Verizon wireless locations and asked about the best selling devices for key applications (like music and e-mail). The survey asked the following questions.

 

 

1. What is the best selling mobile phone right now?

2. What is the best device to get for e-mail?

3. What is the best device to get for music?

4. Has there been an increase in the number of people buying new phones or upgrading their accounts in the past month?

 

 

• 53% of respondents said that a Blackberry device was the best selling device at their location. 16% cited an LG model while another 16% cited a Samsung model. HTC and Motorola phones were cited as well.

• 68% respondents cited Blackberry models when asked which device was the best for e-mail. LG again scored a number two spot with 16% of respondents.

• LG was the top brand recommended for music with over 35% of respondents recommending an LG model as tops of music. Samsung was second with over 25% of respondents citing it as a the best model/brand for music.

• 79% of respondents reported that they are seeing increased new account openings or upgrades from customers in the past month. 21% of respondents say they are not seeing an increase in these categories.

Conclusion of Channel Check: New accounts and upgrades of existing plans appear to be picking up at Verizon stores in September and October. Research In Motion’s Balckberry line of mobile devices appears to be the best selling at Verizon. Samsung and LG look strong in the music focused segments and also run distant number 2 and 3 respectively in the e-mail and best selling categories. Verizon looks focused on hardware ASP’s as all three of these top vendors offer a wide range of mid-priced to lower priced devices to Verizon’s customer base.

 

For access to the underlying survey or for more information, please contact Jason Katz at 415.867.0959 or jason@thechannelcheckers.com