Alibaba-Apple Pay connection?; Coach & Kohl's shares collapse
Shares of Kohl's (KSS) are getting kicked to the curb today, off more than 7% after the retailer told investors third quarter comparable store sales will decline 1.4%. As a result, profits for the year will now be at the low end of its very wide forecast of between $4.05 and $4.45 per diluted share. Management disclosed that business in October has been slow and, for many, that may be a surprise. In September, Kohl's announced plans to hire more than 67,000 holiday associates to meet seasonal demand. Investors are now wondering if the company jumped the gun.
Over at luxury handbag company, Coach (COH), investors are crushing the shares, which are down about 5% after the retailer said sales in North America, its largest market, decreased 19%. Sales in Japan, which rivals North America in size, declined 7% and sales in China, up 10%, grew at the slowest pace in about two years. Coach is getting its butt kicked by rivals including Michael Kors (KORS). These dismal sales figures cancelled out the company's better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales numbers. CEO Victor Luis told investors the company's new initiatives will take time to move the needle. Clearly Coach investors don't want to wait around.
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Alibaba (BABA) CEO Jack Ma, fresh off his company's U.S. IPO, would be interested in a potential partnership with Apple (AAPL) and its newly launched Apple Pay service. Ma expressed his interest at the Wall Street Journal D-Live Technology conference on Monday. Ma's support for Apple Pay and CEO Tim Cook comes at a critical time for the service which has seen push back from several retailers including CVS (CVS) and Rite Aid (RAD). Cook also disclosed he is planning to meet with Ma in the near future.
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