@madamswer - in terms of beaten up retailers - Universal Store is one I've had some success both trading in and investing in. Could write a book on the apparel sector and specifically the youth apparel sector which definitely carries some risk (younger customers are actually being hurt the most at the moment) but when the entirety of the institutional holders decided to sell in a stampede the price got down to 2.59 and reinvested (albeit, not quite at that price). Business has sensational returns on capital, a coherent & balanced growth strategy, new stores have an impressively quick payback, and occupies a decent swimming lane within the youth apparel sector. Great management although the CFO may be leaving. Not sure I'd reinvest at todays may be one to watch or do a wee bit of research on. Challenge is assessing the near and medium term macro headwinds specific to the youth customer against a modest store roll out, and peeling back the impact of a recent acquisition to get a feel for how the underlying business is going.
