IT

It has taken me years to finally figure this out. SJ responsible for IT and job outsourcing to India (not only IT jobs).Today I find this article in the paper ...Jobless claims fall but more cuts loom

Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 5, 2008


A surge in day-after Thanksgiving shopping wasn't enough to save retailers from weak November sales, signaling the industry is likely headed toward one of the worst holiday seasons in years. Among the many retailers that reported sales figures Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. remained one of the few bright spots, with a sales gain of 3.4 percent last month compared with the same month a year ago. But virtually all retailers faltered, even such stalwarts as Costco Wholesale Corp., which posted a sales decline of 5 percent.Heavy discounts lured consumers to malls and shops on what's dubbed Black Friday, generating reports of sales increases both nationally and locally. But that couldn't offset what was overall a disappointing month, exacerbated by early holiday promotions that cut into profit margins along with a late Thanksgiving that shortens the shopping period."It's going to be a very, very challenging period and a lot of companies are not going to make their numbers because consumers are still not going to be spending," said Dale Achabal, executive director of Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute.


Consumers will continue to be cautious until the economy improves, Achabal said. "Until that happens, an awful lot of consumers are not going to spend because they're not certain about their own personal situation," he said.Discount and warehouse-style stores tended to do better than department and specialty stores, as is typical during a economic slump. But Target Corp. had a 10 percent drop in same-store sales.Same-store or comparable sales are considered a reliable indicator of a retailer's health because they compare stores open at least a year, thus excluding the impact of store openings and closings. Sales at Nordstrom Inc. sank 15.9 percent compared with the same month last year, while sales at Neiman Marcus Inc. dropped 11.9 percent and sales were down 13.3 percent at Macy's Inc. "Those double-digit declines like that you just don't see very often. Clearly those apparel and department stores retailers had as tough a month as they've ever had," said Frank Badillo, senior economist at TNS Retail Forward, a market research and consulting firm.Gap Inc., which is based in San Francisco, reported a 10 percent decline in comparable sales for the four weeks that ended Nov. 29. "In anticipation of a challenging holiday season, we made the decision to attract customers with more aggressive offers than last year," Gap's chief financial officer, Sabrina Simmons, said in a statement. "While this resulted in November merchandise margins below last year, our strategy allowed us to successfully clear through inventory in the month."Among 40 retailers reporting results Thursday, sales declined about 2.5 percent, according to TNS Retail Forward. Badillo said that number compares with a relatively healthy 4.3 percent gain last November over 2006, which makes the comparison even tougher this year.

- - - - - - - -


DALE ACHABAL – Professor at Jesuit SCU“His current and former clients include AAFES, AT&T, Gap, IBM, Infosys, Levi Strauss, J.C. Penney, Jardine Pacific, Safeway, and Target corporations.” - SOURCEINFOSYS is one of the largest IT outsourcing and H1-B companies. - SOURCEI believe this can only lead to the conclusion-hypothesis the order is responsible for the destruction of America's working middle-class.