Lehman Still Weighs in on Retail

One of the things that dismayed us the most about Lehman Brothers’ failings was the possibility that we would no longer get their great analyst reports on various public retail chains. Well, the firm is still churning them out.We got one on Friday about Dicks Sporting Goods, entitled “We Believe DKS Is Sporting the Goods.” According to the report, Lehman has just STARTED coverage of the chain. They have plenty of good things to say about Dick’s. The analysts expect square footage to grow there by 10% to 15% annually, they are bullish on its private brands and expect the chain to become a dominant brand in the sector. There is also this interesting tidbit: “Some industry sources have indicated to us that as many as 25 ‘mom and pop’ sporting good stores have gone out of business in the last twelve months.”Bad news about mom and pop stores aside, it’s refreshing to hear that at least one major chain is doing well right now. We just wish the same could be said for Lehman and its peers in the financial sector.