Broadway parent emerges from its own woes, must still fight recession.Carter Hawley Hale Stores Carter Hawley Hale Stores was an American retailer based in Southern California. Known through its history as Broadway-Hale Stores and Broadway Stores, over time, it acquired other retail store chains in regions outside California home base, and became in certain retail sectors a Inc. is back on track but still may be fighting an uphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. toward success if the Southland economy doesn't shape up, retail experts say. Since the struggling retailer emerged from Chapter 11 last October, a new chief executive has been chosen, sales have increased and the company's stock has more than doubled in price. Carter Hawley operates 83 department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. under the names Broadway, Broadway-Southwest, Emporium and Weinstock's. Downtown L.A.-based Carter Hawley's long-time chairman and chief executive, Philip Hawley, stepped down from his posts in March but remains on the board of directors. President Michael Hecht Background Michael L. Hecht has dedicated his career to researching and understanding how people can be successful and effective communicators, developing theory and practice in the areas of interpersonal and inter-ethnic relationships, identity, and adolescent drug resistance. resigned last November. David Dworkin David Dworkin (b.1934) is an American conductor, clarinetist, and educator. Much of his career focused on work with young people:
The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , the No. 2 post. Altogether, Dworkin has made about half a dozen upper management changes. "Dworkin is somebody everybody likes and respects," said Jeffrey Chanin, principal of Westwood-based Chanin & Co. Chanin was the financial adviser to Carter Hawley during its bout with Chapter 11 but is no longer affiliated with the retailer. Sam Zell Samuel "Sam" Zell (born September 1941) is a U.S.-born billionaire and real estate entrepreneur. He is co-founder and Chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm. , whose Chicago-based Zell/Chilmark Fund Ltd. acquired a 75 percent stake in Carter Hawley as part of the retailer's reorganization plan A scheme authorized by federal law and promulgated by the president whereby he or she alters the structure of federal agencies to promote government efficiency and economy through a transfer, consolidation, coordination, authorization, or abolition of functions. , was named chairman. Carter Hawley's new officials seem to be getting along well with each other, Chanin observed. The retailer came out on top during the Christmas season. It reported earnings of $27.8 million on revenues of $732.5 million during the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 30. A year earlier, it lost $102.4 million on revenues of $693.3 million. Carter Hawley officials "have to be very satisfied with their performance," said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the at Dublin, Ohio-based Management Horizons, a retail consulting firm. The financial community has shown its approval by nearly doubling the share price of Carter Hawley's new stock that was issued when the company emerged from Chapter 11. The stock closed at $6.50 a share the first day it was traded in October and closed at $12.625 May 4. The financial community is expressing its confidence in Dworkin, explained Ed Johnson, director of Johnson Redbook Service, a New York-based retail research company. "I think he'll be able to turn it (Carter Hawley) around as he did with Storehouse." Furthermore, the retailer is being extended large lines of credit and is "for the most part" paying its bills on time, said Vincent Creo, a retail credit analyst with New York-based Solo Credit Service Corp. "Our relationship with our vendors is excellent," Dworkin echoed. Carter Hawley is also "considering" a stock offering of more than $100 million, according to a company press release. "Although the offering price and specific use of the funds ... are largely undetermined, the company continues to view store remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling and debt repayment as top priorities," the release stated. Overall, "the company is definitely more on an upswing than a downswing down·swing n. 1. A swing downward, as of a golf club. 2. A decline, as of a business. Noun 1. downswing - a swing downward of a golf club ," Creo said. But retail experts leave no doubt that Carter Hawley's success is contingent upon an overall economic recovery in the Southland. "You cannot beat your head against the wall if the economy isn't going anywhere," Chanin said. "The economic climate is still an issue. Things need to pick up out there," Creo said. The economy is still the biggest problem any retailer faces on the West Coast, Steidtmann added. Dworkin replied that he was able to turn Storehouse around amid an economic climate in England that was much worse than the recession California is experiencing. He said he is not focusing on how the lingering recession might affect the stores. Dworkin added that the consolidation of the May Co. and Robinson's chains into Robinson's-May and the closure of some of R.H. Macy & Co.'s I. Magnin and Bullock's stores will give Carter Hawley an advantage because there will be customers up for grabs. Dworkin would not elaborate on the company's short or long-term strategies, but did say that in many cases the company has either too many people or not the right people. The retailer is going through "an editing process," he said. The company will be further streamlined to eliminate "a lot of duplication," Dworkin added. Johnson was sanguine about the company's future, predicting earnings of about 60 cents a share for fiscal 1993 and 90 cents during fiscal 1994. In three or four years the company should have earnings in the $2.50-a-share range, he said. |
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