Women favored the tailored look at AnnTaylor as did men shopping at Jos A Banks...Chicos followers saw their world as Black & White as their banner put them in the black... Lastly, the girls continued to squeeze into PacSun stores and their boyfriends did the same at Demo... New "duds" call for new shoes and DSW was the benefactor... Uptown the Neiman Marcus crowd found everything on their gift list at both their stores and their famous catalog... Not yet tired out shoppers swung by "club Costco" and fulfilled their quest for value... Oh the sweet smell of success as Bath & Body Works helped get the whole family lathered up and shiny clean... The Top 10 wouldn't be complete without the king of drugs making their now routine appearance, Walgreens makes being the best look easy.

Being a member in good standing of our coveted Top 10 is surely to be recognized, but continuing to be featured as a "rising star" is remarkable... We tip our hat to AnnTayor, DSW Shoe, Neiman Marcus and certainly Sharper Image whose "gotta have gadgets" appealed to more shoppers than management forecasted...Lane Bryant proudly weighed in with round positive results... The racks at Filenes Basement were stripped bare by value minded consumers... Santa filled his sack with goodies from the Childrens Place as they deemed nice versus last year when Santa treated them as naughty... Both Bebe Stores and Wet Seal did better with the teen set, young women, but Wet Seal stayed wet as negative comps lingered... The season of flat screen TV's and other consumer electronics became the ultimate choice for many families and enabled Ultimate Electronics to broadcast "flat" comps.

To appreciate the level of competition in the space Wet Seal occupies you only have to observe that while making the list of "Rising Stars" they remained amongst the Bottom 10 Performers... Gadzooks was not on the lips of shoppers as the company sat astride the top of this category... Both Abecrombie & Fitch in the number two spot and American Eagle seem to have disconnected with the young adults that formerly made both these managements expand their presence and the case of the former invest in a catalog that became "Too Hot To Handle"... Wilson stripped, tanned and hung out the leather, but despite big seasonal promotions shoppers only waved, and that's why the company will seek covenant waivers... California recent recipient of fires, storms, strikes and the arrival of the "Govenator" left shoppers saying Factoy 2 U is not for us, and their CEO departed leaving uncertainty for the future... Mervyns needed more magic than they could muster and missed their "target"... Emergence from Chapter 11 and new management has not as yet gotten Franks Nursery to post results that would have us believe they have grow power... Deb Shops continue to exhibit lackluster sales as they strive to regain their merchandising appeal.

Gadzooks is struggling to pull out of an ever steepening rate of decline, but retains the top spot in both the Bottom 10 and Falling Stars lists, following closely is Abecrombie & Fitch and Franks Nursery, which all share the common thread of missing the right merchandising mix... While appearing on this list is not management's choice, on occasion it is the result of not exceeding the embarassingly good performances of a year ago, evidenced by Bombay Company, Hancock Fabrics, Jo Ann Stores and Cache... The harsh stormy weather during December kept the Moms to be at home safe and snug not daring the ice and snow or a possible slip that did just that for Mothers Work... Pier 1 was ready to sail into the season and expected to ride a wave of "sails" that failed to supply a boat load of traffic... Christopher & Banks private labels never made a good public showing and as a result neither did the company's comp sales, which were revised downward as the month progressed.

While Santa was not as generous this year as had been expected, he did focus more on the more conservative gifts, to the chagrin of the kiddies, as Apparel, Department Stores and Footwear led the parade in comps for the holiday season... Not to be left out, the teens and "gadget hungry" dads helped the recently depressed Consumer Electronics and Specialty Retailers celebrate the season... Mass Merchants contributed heavily to the value-conscious gift giver, though likely at a price as margin erosion is expected... Shoppers flew into Drug Stores looking for relief from the hectic holiday season, harsh winter weather and flu symptoms before ushering in the New Year... As has been the case all year long and particularly at this time of the year "home is where the heart is" as shoppers felt comfortable adding to their Home Furnishings... A ramp-up in Sporting Goods sales, which as a merchandise category lacked "hot products" to spur additional traffic, was constrained by families focusing on consumer electronics.