(Washington; Jan. 16, 2002;
Business Wire) A new study by global media analysis
firm CARMA imMEDIAte.com, LLC has found that American
media showered widespread attention on the impact of the
holiday shopping season on the country's retail sector.
Throughout November, December and early January, the
media reported heavily on one question: after a year in
which the economy screeched to a halt, hundreds of
thousands of workers were laid-off, and the country
endured the first attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor,
would the holiday shopping season be lucrative for
America's nationwide retail chains?
While sales results were mixed across
the retail sector, several chains benefited from being
placed in the media spotlight, with two discounters
emerging as the shining stars. CARMA's research found
that the media anointed Wal-Mart and Target as the big
winners of the holiday shopping season. Numerous reports
indicated that, unlike recent holiday seasons, consumers
sought out stores that presented the best values,
spurring shoppers to visit Wal-Mart and Target rather
than the local mall. Wal-Mart's standing as the nation's
largest retailer was only enhanced during the holidays,
as the media frequently pointed out its strong sales and
its ability to offer the lowest prices. With products
from renowned designers, the media identified Target as
being ``cheap chic'' and the place to go for affordable,
but stylish clothing and home wares. The two chains also
garnered favorable media attention for their heavily
trafficked web sites, walmart.com and target.com.
CARMA imMEDIAte.com, LLC, a
Washington, DC-based company and an affiliate of CARMA
International, Inc., analyzes coverage of more than 700
of the world's largest companies in the 90 most
influential print media outlets across 25 countries in
North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Results are updated daily on its subscription-based Web
site, www.carmaimmediate.com, which currently contains
analysis of 220,000 articles. ``CARMA imMEDIAte.com
provides quick and easy access to insightful, competitive
intelligence data about companies around the world,''
said Albert Barr, CEO of CARMA imMEDIAte.com.
imMEDIAte.com also measures the quality of each company's
media coverage, using the same industry-leading
methodology as its affiliate company, CARMA
International.
The CARMA study showed that the
increased media attention on discounters was not
beneficial for the nation's second largest retailer.
CARMA's research revealed that Kmart received the most
unfavorable coverage among the nation's major retailers.
Kmart suffered from frequent reporting on the chain's
sluggish sales and increased losses. Furthermore, in the
weeks following Christmas, the media raised concerns
about its economic viability because of Kmart's poor
holiday season showing. Kmart's difficulties were
reported to be rooted in its inability to develop its
niche, as the media suggested that it could not compete
with Wal-Mart's low prices or Target's fashionable
products.
Among department stores, J.C. Penney
was the media favorite during the holidays. According to
the study, J.C. Penney was the only major department
store to generate favorable national coverage. After
struggling during 2000 and early 2001, J.C. Penney
strengthened its sales during the back-to-school months,
and the Texas-based firm built on this improvement during
the holiday season. The media highlighted how Penney's
redesigned store layouts and more stylish clothing
offerings enabled the store to reach its sales goals
during the holiday shopping months and achieve same-store
sales growth.
CARMA's research also found that sales
woes tarnished media coverage of the parent company of
shopping mall stalwarts The Gap, Old Navy and Banana
Republic. Gap, Inc. joined Kmart on the list of retailers
that CARMA identified as receiving the most unfavorable
coverage during the holiday season. Despite a
high-profile advertising campaign featuring celebrities
such as Will Ferrell and Sheryl Crow, Gap, Inc.
experienced declining same-store sales during the
holidays. Media reports focused on Gap's poor earnings
over the past year and a half and suggested that the
company was struggling because it grew too quickly during
the booming economy of the late 1990s.
U.S. Media Coverage of the Retail
Industry
(Rating Over 50 = Favorable Coverage;
Under 50 = Unfavorable Coverage; 50 = Neutral
Coverage)
Retailers Receiving the Most Favorable
Coverage
1. Target, 57 Rating
2. Best Buy, 57 Rating
3. J.C. Penney, 56 Rating
4. Circuit City, 56 Rating
5. Wal-Mart, 55 Rating
Retailers Receiving the Most
Unfavorable Coverage
1. Kmart, 45 Rating
2. Gap, Inc., 46 Rating
3. Barnes and Noble, 47
Rating
4. Federated Department Stores, 49
Rating