Planning World

The Beginning

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So, I get this semi-threatening letter from the SLO "powers that be" informing me that I need to blog to participate. Alright, 'ere goes. I'm 22, female, graduated college last May, started my first "Real" job in city planning in October. I am in no way qualified to give financial advice. I base my picks on market news, gut instinct, and observations from my point of view.

I think ULTA is hot. It dropped down to about 12:50 last month, but its back up to $15-ish. I think that ULTA is a good pick for the long haul because their stores have everything a woman could possibly hope for, except tampons. Their products range from drugstore staples like Suave, Revlon, and Covergirl to upscale makeup and perfume products from DKNY, Urban Decay, and Smashbox. I think that they have the diversity and the ability to change inventory to weather what's looking like a long-haul recession.

So, yeah. And I know that probably makes me sound trite and ditzy, but I don't have the financial vocabulary/lingo to write a really good article about why you should or shouldn't buy a stock. Although it seems that especially with IPOs and new retail/technology ventures, being attuned to what people look for and what people desire is key. Sometimes a company's financials don't really matter that much to Wall Street. If the "powers that be" are uncomfortable with where the consumer market that a company caters to is headed, the stock will tank. I think that people who are savvy to what people want as far as product and what they're willing to spend as far as price can make good stock picks.

Women want makeup, most of us over the age of 18 will wear it at least occasionally. We always want more lotion, more shampoo, and our hairdyers break. The question is, do we want the $5.99 eyeshadow or the $18 eyeshadow? Ulta has both and I feel that they have the ability as a small and emerging company to make quick changes as the consumer market changes as a result of the nation's economic shennanagins. Yes, that's exactly what they are.