Retail numbers for the month of January were released yesterday. Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Apparel Magazine discussing the numbers.

While retail sales rose less than expected in January, up only 0.4 percent (including auto sales), I have moved from “cautiously optimistic” to “conditionally optimistic” with respect to retail sales in 2012. As long as consumer confidence continues to rise and unemployment continues to decline, 2012 will see healthier gains than the prior two years.

It’s important to remember when looking at January sales numbers that this is the month where retailers typically clean up and clean out leftover holiday inventory and begin preparations for Spring. January numbers may not be indicative of the growth the industry will experience during 2012, as retailers are still dealing with the excess baggage from the less than stellar holiday season.

Read more at: http://apparel.edgl.com/news/Is-It-Time-for-Retailers-to-Throw-Caution-to-the-Wind-78645.aspx?googleid=78645

]]> http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/is-it-time-for-retailers-to-throw-caution-to-the-wind/feed/ 0 http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/gloria-lance-credit-line/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gloria-lance-credit-line http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/blog/gloria-lance-credit-line/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:13:22 +0000 Capital Business Credit http://capitalbusinesscredit.com/?p=1892 Gloria Lance, Inc. is a California-based women’s clothing manufacturer, whose clothing is sold in retail outlets throughout the United States. In business for almost 30 years, Gloria Lance has operated in both good and bad markets.  For many years, the … Continue reading →]]>

Gloria Lance, Inc. is a California-based women’s clothing manufacturer, whose clothing is sold in retail outlets throughout the United States.

In business for almost 30 years, Gloria Lance has operated in both good and bad markets.  For many years, the company relied on a large factor to provide them working capital, but when the company hit a few bumps in the road due to the lagging economy, their long term partner decided that Gloria Lance was no longer worth the risk.

“When our long-time factor severed ties with the Company, we knew it was time to find a company who would truly take the time to understand our business, get to know our management team and look at Gloria Lance as more than just numbers on a spreadsheet,” said, Michael Kazden, Chief Financial Officer of Gloria Lance.

In April 2011, Gloria Lance sought assistance from Capital Business Credit (CBC). Very quickly, CBC recognized the company’s potential and provided them a $4 million revolving credit line. With the CBC credit facility, not only is the Company operating at a profit, but its growth trajectory shows signs that it may nearly double annual revenues over the next few years.

Recently, I attended the Commercial Finance Association’s (CFA) Asset Based Capital Conference and Turnaround Management Association’s (TMA) Distressed Investing Conference in Las Vegas.

Overall the collective mood continued to be cautious at the events. Here is my take on both events:

CFA Asset Based Capital Conference

2011 was a good year for asset-based lenders who work with large cap companies, as many sought to refinance using ABL facilities. Many think that ABL volume would not be as strong in the New Year, as most of the companies who were going to refinance did so in 2011. However, I believe asset-based loans will see some action in 2012 from private equity firms who are going to get off the sidelines and start to make acquisitions. It’s my opinion that ABL will play a significant role in these types of deals.

There wasn’t a large amount of action in the mid-to-small cap space with respect to ABL in 2011. This wasn’t necessarily because the need didn’t exist, rather, there were not enough lenders to take on these types of deals. Federal regulators are still pressuring big banks to remove this type of debt from their balance sheets. In turn, banks are reticent to lend to small businesses. I don’t see this changing anytime soon which presents huge opportunities for non-bank lenders like CBC.

TMA Distressed Investing Conference

It appeared to me that there was a lot of ‘wishful thinking’ taking place at TMA conference. Many expect an uptick in business as large banks start to deleverage, severing ties with small, struggling companies that have relied on them. Many are under the impression that these small companies will want to sell themselves in 2012, however, I believe that these companies will try to hold on for another year or two and try to increase their valuations so when they do sell, they aren’t taking such a large hit. These businesses are gong to try to invest and grow until their business and the markets are in a more healthy position. While this might not be a great thing for distressed equity investors, there are opportunities for asset-based lenders.

Prior to joining CBC, Teresa was the Vice President of developing new businesses as well as Account Executive responsible for monitoring client portfolios at various factors and a bank.  She also has experiences as an operations manager for an importing company and domestic distribution.

Teresa is a member of Asian Business Association.  She is also active in her community as she serves as a Board of Director for the Cerritos Chinese School.  Teresa holds a Master of Business Administration from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a BS in Operations Management.

Dan has 25 years experience in commercial finance & factoring with large US Banks; First Union, Bank of Boston, SunTrust Bank.

Dan is a graduate of the Univ. of Richmond ( A.H. Robbins School of Business)

A 30 year veteran of the factoring and finance industry, Bill has served in various positions at Citicorp, Security Pacific Business Credit and L.A. Gear before joining CBC in 1998.

Bill has a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, CUNY.

Prior to joining CBC, Peter was business development manager and officer at Wells Fargo, Fleet and CIT for over 30 years.

Peter has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Francis College (Brooklyn).

He is on the Board of the TMA (NJ Chapter), the NJ CFA & an active member of the ACG.

Previously, John has held sales and management positions at several banks, including Continental Illinois Bank and Wells Fargo, as well as finance companies.  John’s experience also includes equipment finance & leasing in the U.S and in England.

John has a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi Suffolk College and a Masters Degree in Finance from Xavier University.

He is a member of the Commercial Financial Association and the Turnaround Management Association.

Joe came to Capital Business Credit though the acquisition of Omni Commercial where he was a SVP and Portfolio Manager for 11 years. Prior, he held positions as Account Executive and Wholesale Credit Manager at Capital Factors, Assistant Credit Manager at Bankers Trust Factors and a Senior Credit Analyst at Burlington Industries.

Joe holds a Bachelors degree in Business Management and Finance from Mercy College.

Don has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge and an MBA from Pepperdine University.