No, pretty much. It’s just we have a broader assortment there, so there may be a few more hits but denim continues to be strong and so at this point, it’s somewhat mirrored though we have a broader assortment and there are products we carry online that we don’t carry in the store, so it’s really hard just to go category for category but we are putting ---
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
And in outlet?
Sally Frame Kasaks
In outlet business, we’ve seen some strength in certain parts of the country. It might be stronger than some of the core pack businesses but from a category point of view, it still comes down to denim and tops and well-priced fleece. So the categories remain pretty similar. It’s just the pricing and depending upon the location where the outlet stores are.
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
Great, and then if you guys can all think for a moment about a normal environment where people actually shop again -- every day I am trying to will it -- but I guess a few questions about that. Sally, first of all, if you can think about that, would you say generally are you happy about the trends in apparel and what’s going on in the stores? And then I guess Mike, changes that you have made on the SG&A side, on the expense side, even the way you run the stores -- and I don’t mean when things are good necessarily opening with one person but have you made changes to the organization that you will be able to carry through, even when things are better? And then I guess for all of you, one last question -- clearly with the stock at levels it is, you are not getting paid for whatever is going on right today and so are you taking some chances in this environment to sort of test and try some things and take some risks that could really pay off over time for the company?
Sally Frame Kasaks
Well, first of all I think generally the assortments are pretty good right now. I guess -- and it’s hard to say because I also have -- I know what’s coming in each month and each delivery and I think our team has continued to look forward rather than getting too mired with the difficulty, so to some extent we are taking chances and I think you will see it with each floor set. You may agree or disagree with the assortment but I do believe the team is working to move forward, and so there are some chances that we are taking there.
So generally pleased with the assortments -- you know, you can always tinker hindsight and so forth but we remain committed to denim, we remain committed to the categories that are building and I -- we are just moving on. So I -- I’m not sure what more chances you can take though because we also have to be somewhat careful. I think in terms of some of the quantities we are laying, we are beginning to play with the breadth of assortment, maybe we should be a little bit broader and a little less narrow, so we are working through that, Marni.
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
Okay.
Sally Frame Kasaks
But those are the kinds of things we are looking at this point, because I think we’ve done a lot of seismic change in the business. You know, sometimes we forget how much this business has done and worked through over the past, particularly the past 18 months, and we have sort of trying to level set -- I think we’ve taken a lot of chances and sometimes when questioned by many of you on this call about those, I think we’ve taken those and now we are just trying to build from lessons learned and try to find out what steady state is.
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
And by chances, do you mean also on the fashion side, whether it’s the colored denim or the buffalo plaid shirts, or --
Sally Frame Kasaks
Yeah, exactly -- I mean, our team is moving on and I think it’s very exciting to see that despite -- you know, it can be negative just turning on the radio in the morning but I think our team has continued to press on in some of the -- I am really quite excited. I just wish the external environment was a little bit more hospitable because -- but it isn''t, so we’ll get through it.
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
That’s what I wanted to hear, that you are still excited about it. And my -- |