Accentuating the caveat emptor perspective with critical commentary on financial disclosure. I adopt a skeptical persona and look for chinks in the teflon coating of financial disclosure. My job is to identify financial warts. Perhaps a Black Swan. Disclosure: I do not hold positions in stocks mentioned for three trading days before or after blog post.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Brown Shoe Inventory Issues
Brown Shoe (NYSE:BWS) reported red ink, promised red ink for the next quarter and then says they will be in the black for the entire year. Given the seasonality of the business perhaps they will pull it off. They do have a strategy of opening new stores while same store sales are declining. This causes inventory build up as you stock up stores and provide selection. Management is not speaking to this issue of growing inventory which is almost equal to one full quarter’s worth of revenues. Shoes have multiple lines. No discussion from a product line or merchandising perspective. Does management understand their business or is the model wrong?