O summed up the depth of the discounts Jos A

I appreciate the work they did at my Alma Mater and am not going to fault them for doing exactly the same thing I would do.Part of me hopes Florida just crushes Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl That is what Bearcat fans deserve at this point. However, I would hate to see the work Kelly put in just go down in flames. I have too much respect for him.This article is also posted on What: December U.S. same-store sales seen down 1.4 pct Stocks When: January 7 and 8 Margins seen hit by "unprecedented" discounting After-Christmas traffic boost unable to save season By Brad Dorfman CHICAGO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Deep discounts failed to coaxconsumers to shop in December, but are sure to sap margins andwill likely lead to a number of profit warnings when retailersreport sales for the all-important holiday month this week.

With consumers getting hammered by a recession, jobuncertainty, tighter credit and falling stock portfolios,discount giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) could be one of theonly retailers to post a rise in December sales at storesopened at least a year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Widespread after-Christmas sales illustrated how muchinventory retailers still had on their shelves and analystscaution there is little on the horizon to spur consumers tostart shopping again in the first part of 2009. "I think we are going to see a whole new color of ugly,"said Patricia Edwards, retail analyst at Storehouse Partners "'Unprecedented' doesn't seem to say enough. 'Ugly' doesn'tseem to say enough." A recent sale by men's clothing retailer Jos. A BankClothiers Inc (JOSB.O) summed up the depth of the discounts "Jos A. Bank giving away three suits for the price of oneC'mon!" Edwards said. December's same-store sales are expected to be down 1.4percent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data.That would be the second weakest sales month since ThomsonReuters began tracking sales data in 2000, trailing onlyNovember, which had a 7.8 percent decline.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said lastweek the U.S. holiday shopping season would show its firstdecline since the ICSC began tracking sales in 1969. The shopping center group also estimated 148,000 retailstores closed in 2008 and that another 73,000 would do so inthe first half of 2009. But the decline in sales is only part of the issue forretailers. Of more concern to investors will be profit warningsretailers issue as those deep discounts hit margins.

Research firm Retail Metrics said fourth-quarter profitsfor the 122 companies it tracks are expected to be down 19.2percent. stores, while all other retailers together areexpected to see same-store sales fall 7.1 percent, ThomsonReuters said. Teen and children's apparel retailers are expected to dothe worst, with an estimated 15 percent decline, while otherapparel retailers are expected to be down 8.6 percent.Department stores are estimated to be down 8.1 percent,according to Thomson Reuters. Winter storms the weekend before Christmas hampered salesin some parts of the country, giving many consumers anotherreason not to go shopping. Analysts said traffic at stores picked up after Christmas,but that it was unlikely enough to save the holiday season.