Top Specialty Retail Stocks To Own For 2014

The shorts appear to be trying to crack small cap Tile Shop Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: TTS)���meaning it might be worth taking a realistic look at the stock and any potential problems surrounding it plus the performance of other home improvement retailers or peers like Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE: LL), which is not into tiles, and The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies, Inc (NYSE: LOW) which would be into tiles.

What is Tile Shop Holdings?

Small cap�Tile Shop calls itself�a leading specialty retailer of manufactured and natural stone tiles, setting and maintenance materials and related accessories in the United States. Specifically, the Tile Shop says it offers a wide selection of products, good value and enhanced customer service in a unique showroom setting. As of June 30, The Tile Shop operated 80 stores in 25 states, with stores having an average footprint of 23,000 square feet.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: West Marine Inc (WMAR)

West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.

During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.

Stores Segment

During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.

Port Supply Segment

Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.

Direct-to-Customer Segment

The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Interactive Buyside]

  West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer.  The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer.   Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season.  The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term.  The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm.  The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position. 

Top Specialty Retail Stocks To Own For 2014: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Company�� principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), children�� books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its bookstores or on barnesandnoble.com.

Of the Company�� 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Company�� eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.

B&N Retail

This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of ongoing events, including author appearances and children�� activities. The B&! N Retail segment also includes the Company�� eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Company�� B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.

Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photography, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a children�� books.

B&N College

B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Company�� customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.

As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores range in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The academic superstores range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&! N College! �� three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.

NOOK

This segment includes the Company�� digital business, which includes the Company�� eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Noble�� NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of today�� most popular devices.

The Company competes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Investors seems to believe that J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) showed signs of life when it released earnings, and that Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) admitted it was doomed. No matter which side Wall Street takes of either case, all of the evidence shows that neither has made any advance against its real enemy — Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Barnes & Noble is the last remaining nationwide bookstore, and it continues to struggle against current competition. The company today reported fourth quarter earnings that left investors pleased. The stock has been volatile and is currently trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been rising while revenues have been declining. Relative to its peers and sector, Barnes & Noble has been a relative year-to-date performance leader. Look for Barnes & Noble to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  But highly fragmented businesses where competition is from local small businesses are the easiest to grow for a long, long time. It�� the Starbucks (SBUX), Barnes & Noble (BKS), etc. formula. It�� really easy to grow against local competition. It gets hard when you start facing the same (large) competitor across all geographies.

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  Barnes & Noble (BKS) was falling around 6% at recent check, despite reporting a surprise profit in its second quarter, as sales declined across its major segments.

  The struggling bookseller reported earnings of $13.2 million, or 15 cents a share, well ahead of the seven-cent per share loss a year earlier. Analysts were expecting the company to post another loss this quarter, anywhere from three to 11 cents, depending on which source you use.

  Sales fell 8% year over year to $1.73 billion, just shy of the $1.76 billion consensus.

  Gross margin improved to 26.6% from 25.6%, on a 9.3% drop in costs of sales and occupancy. Selling and administrative costs were down 7.1%.

  Revenues at its retail segment dropped 7.5% year over year in the quarter, while its college division reported a 4.6% decline in sales. Nook revenues dropped 32%.

  Barnes & Noble also reaffirmed its previously announced full-year guidance, which calls for same-store sales declines in its retail and college stores.

  It�� been a tumultuous year for Barnes & Noble, as it has abandoned plans to split itself in two and Chairman Leonard Riggio decided against purchasing the company�� consumer bookstores.

Top Specialty Retail Stocks To Own For 2014: Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc (ULTA)

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (Ulta), incorporated on January 9, 1990, is a beauty retailer, which provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States. During the year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Company opened 61 new stores. It operates full-service salons in all of its stores. Its Ulta store format includes an open and modern salon area with approximately eight to 10 stations. The entire salon area is approximately 950 square feet with a concierge desk, skin treatment room, semi-private shampoo and hair color processing areas. Each salon is a full-service salon offering hair cuts, hair coloring and permanent texture, with salons also providing facials and waxing.

The Company offers products in the categories, such as cosmetics, which includes products for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips and nails; haircare, which includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products, and hair accessories; salon styling tools, which includes hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons; skincare and bath and body, which includes products for the face, hands and body; fragrance for both men and women; private label, consisting of Ulta branded cosmetics, skincare, bath and body products and haircare, and other, including candles, home fragrance products and other miscellaneous health and beauty products. The Company has combined its three operating segments: retail stores, salon services and e-commerce, into one reportable segment.

The Company competes with Macy��, Nordstrom, Sephora, Bath & Body Works, CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens, Target, Wal-Mart, Regis Corp., Sally Beauty and JCPenney salons.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Boeing's (NYSE: BA  ) 787 Dreamliner was back in the news (and not for good reasons), which is one reason we prefer Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP  ) . Ulta Salon (NASDAQ: ULTA  ) names a new CEO. Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC  ) makes a big buy. And Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) is reportedly working on a news service for mobile devices. In this installment of Investor Beat, Andy and Jason discuss four stocks making big moves.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Tuesday, Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ: ULTA  ) will release its quarterly report, and shareholders haven't been able to recover from steep losses toward the end of 2013. But with department-store retailers Macy's (NYSE: M  ) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) working hard to capture their own share of the beauty market, Ulta Salon will have to work even harder to woo customers into its doors and make the most of the opportunity once they arrive.

Top Specialty Retail Stocks To Own For 2014: Puget Technologies Inc (PUGE)

PUGET TECHNOLOGIES, INC., incorporated on March 17, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the distribution of luxury wool bedding sets produced in Germany. The Company�� product includes Lama Wool, Camel Wool, Cashmere Wool and Merino Wool.

The Company�� Lama Wool is consists of 50% Lama Wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Camel wool is consists of 50% Camel wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Cashmere wool is blended with Merino wool.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Inscor, Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA), Puget Technologies Inc (OTCBB: PUGE) and PTA Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS: PTAH) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. However, two of these small caps have been the subject of paid promotions while the third is getting attention largely because its in the growing marijuana or cannabis business. With that in mind, are these stocks really all that hot or not? Here is a quick reality check: