NEW YORK, July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Zimmerman, CEO of hedge fund Prentice
Capital is noting that retail sales gained 0.3 percent in the most
recent figures for May. While that was below the 0.6 percent rise
expected on Wall Street the data did little to alter views the
economy is regaining steam.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday, "The continued gains
during the first two months of the second quarter suggests that
consumers are continuing to hold their side of the bargain,
building on the strong momentum at the end of the last quarter,"
said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief
economist at TD Securities in New
York.
"There is an emerging positive story for consumers and the
potential for a virtuous cycle to take hold," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante
Moran Financial Advisors.
It's no surprise then that Prentice Capital's Zimmerman, the
former SAC retail equity specialist has recently announced a string
of investments in online Retail stocks including Gaiam, dELiA*s and
PacSun, as revealed through mandatory SEC disclosures of
substantial shareholdings.
Michael Zimmerman believes
retailers integrating mobile devices into their online strategy
have the strongest opportunity for growth. Zimmerman's view is that
online shopping will continue to take share, the emergence of
tablets and bigger phones is accelerating the online vs. bricks and
mortar struggle.
These positive economic numbers support Zimmermans bullish
position on retail equities, opinion that is confirmed by booming
global internet sales figures and confidence in mcommerce. Mobile
phones and tablets were also found to be generating even more
traffic, accounting for almost a quarter of hits in June.
The value of mobile commerce transactions conducted via mobile
devices is expected to exceed $3.2
trillion by 2017, rising from $1.5
trillion this year, according to a new report from Juniper
Research.
The conference board's consumer sentiment index climbed to 68.1
for April, surpassing the highest Bloomberg economist survey
estimations, further buttressing the economic climate.
2014 could be a breakthrough year for mobile shopping, a
scenario that sets the stage for continued growth both for the
Michael Zimmerman hedge fund portfolio and Prentice Capital
Management LP.
SOURCE Prentice Capital