So far the numbers have been on the soft side this month -- that's true across almost the entire industry. Everybody is blaming the weather.

They're gaining ever more share of women's apparel, which is a high margin business. They're growing rapidly at better than 20 percent in both square footage and earnings. In an environment where people are talking numbers, Kohl's could certainly meet the numbers and even exceed expectations, for example, in the third quarter.

In a sure sign of its resurgence, most department stores have just finished moving the business off the main floor to the mezzanine or top floor.

We believe it is likely that the sales recovery will be pushed out by a few months as we expect momentum to deteriorate in some of our indicators, particularly consumer confidence.

I think they have reasonably good locations in the Northeast. There'll be a bidding process, but it just seems like a good fit. They've been more aggressive than some of the others in the region.

We remain skeptical of Sears' ability to turn around its apparel business.