Hot Topic, Inc. (HOTT)

Teen unemployment at an all time high. No designer duds for them! Ah teen retail and commercial RE, that's the place to be(not).

The EBIT is at a 3 year high but the projected growth rate is expected to decline. Despite nearing the upcoming school year, the economy is not prepared to increase retail spending.

Hott Topic showed steadily increasing earnings, and my son wanted me to buy this, because we bought DIS for his mother. And they have t shirts with old band like led Zepplin, and I thought maybe the parents will start buying the t shirts too. I bought it at 9.60 and it took a 20% nose dive within a week.

Enjoyment of dangerous shorts...once the squeeze ends this will bring points.

Eventually kids won't want to be vampires any more. Sorry, all I know about Hot Topic I learned from South Park.

going down in points with a lot of good company right now. hopefully long term will see a change.

High P/E plus inconsistent earnings history, selling dying fashion trends and overpriced compared to sector members. Recent rise is a short-squeeze and is worth around 5 bucks and is headed there soon.

P/E too high, low profit margins. Priced to fall.

Wall Street is burning to the ground, and yet this company has a PE of 22?!

Small Retail Shops will not survive the after Christmas Downturn.

wtF?

They just got panned on South Park. I suggest that this means HOTT's popularity is at an apex. All downhill...

Cold Topic.

I've been writing about this company for quite a long time, but here are a few of my thoughts on this retailer.

Recent thoughts: http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2008/07/16/hot-gossip-at-hot-topic.aspx

Not so recent, but one of my personal favorites: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/03/16/hot-topic-gets-goth-served.aspx

I guess in a nutshell, it's one thing to be a niche retailer but you've got to not only do it well but also be authentic to your target customers. Hot Topic could have been a super cool retailer if it really was truly serving subculture, but as far as I have been able to tell it's about trend/fashion and nothing more real than that (back in my long-ago youth, that was called being a "poseur"). I've long thought maybe Hot Topic should have just been a private company and never have had any pressure to expand. This is the long story of why I have it marked as an "underperform" here. (Plus, it's never looked cheap to me by glancing at its multiples, either, so end of story.)

Mall junk.

Retail and at too high a P/e given same store sales are falling faster than most other retailers

Hot Topic buyers will not likely be able to procreate, so HOTT will eventually return to the casket.

Goth/outcast fashion just isn't a popular trend.

Don't look for this stock to go anywhere anytime soon. Specialty retailers are getting killed right now. This is based towards a certain type of people.