Report: Analyst says 2010 will be harder for discounters

New York City The new year may be harder for discount retailers, an Oppenheimer analyst said Friday in an Associated Press report, as their sales will be compared with year-ago figures that got an extra lift from bargain hunters and they may start to see a slowdown in earnings growth.

The recession prompted many shoppers to head to discount chains last year as they tried to get more for their money and control spending. That impulse may fade as the economy improves.

Analyst Robert Samuels said companies such as TJX Cos., Ross Stores, and Aeropostale will have a harder time in 2010, and lowered the three companies to "Underperform" from "Perform."

"While we think Aeropostale, Ross Stores and TJX are all very well-managed companies, they have benefited over the past 18 months from the consumer trade-down, which we think has peaked," Samuels wrote in a client note.