Gasoline Prices Rise- Big Box Retailers Feel the Most Pain.

I don't have a car here in NYC. There really is no need. But after I took a trip out to the Gateway Plaza Mall in Brooklyn, NY a couple weeks ago, I realized how much of an impact rising gasoline prices are having on shoppers wallets. I did my research, spoke to analysts at Global Hunter Securities, even analyzed what shoppers cut back on when those prices started to rise. But it wasn't until we filled the car up with gasoline on the way home and saw the bill for $70 for a FULL TANK OF GAS did it hit me-- this is a real problem. For me $70 equals a couple things: a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant, a facial at Mario Badescu, a new handbag at a sample sale, or two weeks of groceries at Whole Foods. Check out my report here:

Licensing Deals + New Management Still Didn't Help $CROX and $GPS

Unbelievable. Crocs JUST announced two weeks ago that it would be entering into a licensing deal to create a greater product mix(surprise-- but those plastic clog type shoes aren't selling well other than in Asia)! Everyone thought this was 2012's turn around story. And now... NOW with an outlook for Q1 that missed analyst estimates, the street is back to where it started at the beginning of Q4 of 2011- doubtful that this company can really turn it around. And Gap is another one. Same store sales have been negative for a couple months now. And all of those holiday promotions didn't help Q4 numbers- in fact it narrowed margins. The company is offering a buyback program of $1 billion but analysts I spoke to were skeptical. Check out the vid from Friday: