American retail executives are hoping for stabilisation in 2023 after a rocky 2022 beset companies with continuous challenges, including unpredictable customer demand. The week in retail earnings in the US made clear that cost of living and inflationary restrictions are squeezing middle tier and department store retailers.
“Taking a step back from the quarter and reflecting on the full year, one word comes to mind: complex,” Abercrombie & Fitch CEO and director Fran Horowitz said on Wednesday’s earnings call with investors. “Back to normal did not happen in retail,” she said, citing Covid restrictions, inflation and geopolitical conflict. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) president and creative director, AE and Aerie, Jennifer Foyle, called it a “rollercoaster of a year”. And, in an earnings call on Tuesday, Target CEO Brian Cornell called the past year “the most expensive operating environment we’ve seen in decades”, noting that the Covid fallout was exacerbated by rising fuel prices due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, in turn impacting consumer spending.
itim Group plc (LON:ITIM) is a SaaS-based technology company that enables store-based retailers to optimise their businesses to improve financial performance and effectively compete with online competitors. Itim adds retail value by helping multi-channel retailers optimise their business and their stores to improve financial performance and compete more effectively with the “Amazons”.
