Attitudes: Retailers

New York -- Best Buy is open to considering a lowered bid from founder Richard Schulze, according to the New York Post.

The report, citing sources close to the company, suggested the chain is now open to a bid of around $20 per share.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Social media will influence how people plan to shop this holiday season nearly as much as word-of-mouth and store advertisements, according to a survey conducted by ConsumerSearch.com, part of the About Group.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- The ratio of retail hires to applicants has gone up to the highest number since August 2008, rising to 4.8% in October, according to the Kronos Retail Labor Index. (The Index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3% means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred.)

Richmond, Va. -- Poll results released Monday by hourly employment network Snagajob found that most hourly employers are not waiting until after Election Day to make business decisions. The survey found that more than half of hourly employers (55%) cited potential healthcare requirements as the key presidential election issue most likely to affect their business. Possible economic stimulus plans (25%) and tax code changes (14%) were among other concerns weighing on hourly employers.

Fort Lee, N.J. — Supermarkets are facing increased competition from dollar stores, according to a new survey from Perception Research Services International.

Organized labor was crowing this week about a protest, or was it a strike, involving 88 Walmart employees at 28 stores in 12 states who didn’t show up for work on Tuesday.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

New York -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index decreased again in September, following a downward revision in August. The index now stands at 107.86, down from the revised figure of 108.23 in August. The September figure is 5.4% higher than a year ago.