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A look at the “hardest working” major brands for 2009 shows that a number of them belong to companies which have done poorly and, in at least one case, may file Chapter 11. This is due to the definition of a hard-working brand, which is based on the ratio of its value to the market capitalization of its parent company.
CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009. Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”
Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.
Large consumer companies spend a great deal of marketing money on creating, preserving, and increasing the image of their brands. If a product has problems, the process does not always work. Toyota (NYSE:TM) has found that out the hard way.
It is cause for worry when the world’s largest retailer cuts 11,200 people right after a rough holiday sales season. Wal-Mart will fire that many people at its Sam’s Club division.
Glassdoor 
Reuters: China says there are ways to resolve problems with 
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) has been a significant winner lately even though it has been a very poor retailer for most of its recent history. But Eddie Lampert’s surprises was that he not only proved to meet our call of 
Customer satisfaction with the e-commerce operations at Neiman Marcus and 
comScore, which measures online consumer behavior, is among the best companies at analyzing traffic to websites. comScore also decodes what people do when they get to their online destinations. The value of the data is fleeting, though. The internet is forever changing as the habits of people and businesses using the web move in new directions every day. Some websites lose popularity while others gain it.
There are bits of research that say holiday e-commerce sales rose in the double digits over the Thanksgiving weekend and did even better on Monday. E-commerce sales have risen as a total percentage of retail revenue since 1995, the year Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was founded. Online sales are about 10% of total retail sales at this point. The rumors that growth was dying in the e-commerce industry began to circulate late last year when it became clear that both internet and bricks-and-mortar holiday sales numbers would drop from 2007. Online holiday buying activity had to keep a better pace than store-based sales for the theory of its bright future to hold. The internet has not changed anything meaningful about the American consumer’s basic buying habits otherwise.
Most people would guess that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) would do well this holiday season–better than their respective competitors.
The earnings season is mostly winding down, but we still have a slew of retail earnings in the apparel and home categories. On Thursday alone, we have earnings from Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), The Buckle (NYSE: BKE), The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), and Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ).
