At the FMI Mid-Winter conference in Scottsdale. Some interesting observations. First, while much of the country struggles with way-below freezing temperatures you can’t beat the 75 degree temperature and sunny skies of Arizona. Another is that there are a lot of ideas coming out of this annual event, with analysts suggesting retailers go in many different directions. What is real and what is hyperbole remains to be seen, but the suggestion here is that retailers and their suppliers react cautiously to many of these initiatives.
Another observation is that the state of the economy in Arizona is hurting. Had the opportunity to walk into a couple of retail stores over the last few days. The consensus from these operators was that Arizona has not fared will in this recovery. Several said they were closing up shop and moving to Texas, Virginia and New York. Very interesting.
