Consumer >> Analyst Interviews >> August 23, 2013

Higher-End Retail Outperforms the Lower End

Hottovy, R. J.
R.J. Hottovy, CFA, is Morningstar's Global Director of Consumer Equity Research and Senior Restaurant and Retail Analyst. Hottovy's research specializes in a broad range of consumer categories, including restaurants, online retail, footwear and apparel retail, consumer electronics retail, and a number of consumer product manufacturers. Prior to joining Morningstar, Mr. Hottovy was a Director and Senior Stock Analyst at Next Generation Equity Research and Analyst at William Blair & Company, L.L.C., specializing in a wide range of retail and consumer product companies. He also spent two years at Deutsche Bank covering waste management, water utility and equipment rental stocks. Mr. Hottovy's efforts have been recognized by a number of financial and trade publications, including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Barron's, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Footwear News. Mr. Hottovy is an active member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago. He was also nominated for Crain's Chicago 40 Under 40 award in 2011. Mr. Hottovy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in finance and a second degree in computer applications. Profile
TWST: There have been a lot of retail companies reporting this week and last week. What is happening with retail right now?

Mr. Hottovy: It has been an interesting week in terms of what