Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

II think Dillard's is one of the worst companies in the retail business. Their attitiude towards employees is insulting to me as a consumer. They only focus on the here and now as opposed to building consistent results over time. Boo!

Dillards is a heavy weight in the retail arena and can weather all seasons. The stock currently trades at half book and is a bargain for those willing to ride out seasonal ups and downs... Family has controlling intrest and this has been a largely debated issue. Buyout noise spurs rapid intrest in this stock.Will trade back to book under fair to great market conditions,is listed in the S&P. Good retail prospects longrun, They own almost all their 366 store locations...amoung other good aspects in their key statistics!

bad management, lack of sales, not a good mix of merchandise, HUGE turnover rate of employees means that customers don't get a change to get a relationship with any one sales associate to help build the sales. (Turnover goes back to BAD Management)

I believe Dillard's will begin to make the needed changes to its management style within the next 4 operating quarters. They will assemble and meet with outside interests, and align a strategic gameplan to cut operating expenses. That alone should help the company weather the downturn that the overall economy will see over the coming 18 to 24 months. I look for the stock price to trade in a range, anywhere from 18 to 26 over that time frame. I believe, the longterm outlook will show strength for those willing to be patient. Add shares on dips in market swings.

..good quality, esp. shoes.
my favorite store.
I think it's going up.

Obviously, my experiences are not universal, but I've never known anyone to show joy after their local dept. store chain was taken over by Dillard's. IMO the stores try to be fashionable, but the merchandise is overcrowded and retail help is not always easy to find. A buddy of mine likes DDS because he finds good clearance prices on neckties; but surely the measure of a store is that its neckties (or whatever) are so in demand that there aren't many heavily discounted remainders.

Style and price-point wise, Dillard's is probably a notch above JCPenney and half a notch below Macy's. Yet even Macy's has a more consistent sense of style and "oomph" than the several Dillard's I've visited, and even Macy's promotions seem broader and more memorable than Dillard's. I see little future for one more blah middle-of-the-road dept. store chain, especially one that may have bitten off more than it could chew in a huge gulp of acquisitions in the late 1990s.

Bleeeeagh! Underperforming "dullard" of a company in the highly-competitive low-margins clothing retailer business. Cannot count the number of competitors on my fingers and toes, and every one of them has a better position in the market than this company.

I think the department store consolidation movement has passed them by. All the biggies have their regional acquisitions now and nobody's sniffing around DDS. Has some significant holdings in mall real estate, but that's losing value by the hour.

On top of all that, Morningstar has given them a big X for financial accountability and transparency.

Although the income statement seems to be moving in the right direction, I don't believe this to be a well-run company and can't see this outperforming the market long term.

Can't remember the last time I shopped there or heard someone say, "oh this? I got it at Dillard's." America shops at Old Navy, Gap & Wal-Mart. A good buy at half the current price.

4 out of 5 dentists prefer DDS

over priced

I made a 98% profit on DDS over the last 14 months. I sold and bought twice. I'm up 48% on the third go round. My rationale is that it is the best performing stock I own.

Overpriced retailer operating in competitive industry against larger and more profitable players (Federated, Saks, etc.); sales growth anemic over last 5 years; considerable amount of debt; low ROE

Dillard's, Inc. operates retail department stores located primarily in the southeastern, southwestern and midwestern areas of the United States. Merchandise offerings include men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The company operates 329 retail departmental stores in 29 U.S states.

The departmental sector is very competitive with players like J.C Penny, Federated department stores and Kohl gaining strong foothold. Along with much higher store base, these companies have been able to deliver superior financial performance. On the other hand, Dillards has not been aggressive on store openings and the number of stores has actually gone down since the past five years. Same-store sales, one of the key retail metrics, have displayed wretched performance with negative growth over past many years. Moreover, total retail sales in traditional departmental stores industry dropped 13% in the last five years, which does not bode well for the company.

Additionally, revenue growth over the years has been negative. Furthermore, the year-to-date fiscal performance has been bleak with hardly any rise in the top line. The sad story continues with 2% decline in November sales. Also, the company has huge pile of debt on its balance sheet, which could deteriorate the operating performance. Margins are also showing declining trend since past three quarters. With dull financial performance and no strong initiatives in line, Dillards looks like a laggard.

Personal investigation of stores: Very badly centrally managed company.

dds

I'm still hoping for more consolidation in this sector. I don't think Dillards is going to be a buyer, so they is a good chance they will get bought out.

A value Proposition