Good technology is ensuring that the right product is in the store at the right time.

Clearly, there are some overtones for the industry, but I think largely Wal-Mart has some of its own issues. I think they are still very sloppy with store-level execution.

It's certainly disappointing by any measure, ... I think the industry is going to be close to flat, with a zero- to-1 percent rise. Coming in, we thought the month would be up 2 to 3 percent.

It looks like in some cases, there's going to be some disappointing results coming out.

It looks like sales really happened in the last few days, following a pattern we've seen in the last few years,

It's feast or famine. Some are getting (sales growth through discounts), some are getting it at full price.

Federated (Department Stores) was below plan. Target was well below plan, ... We have enough data to know the month was not good.

We've gone from a situation where retailers were wildly excited about the prospects for 1996 to one where reality has set in.

My hope would be that with the two dolls, they'll be able to appeal to a broader range of ages.