Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Like many consumer-goods companies, Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL  ) is best known for the products it makes. Lately, though, it's been the dependable earnings growth and solid dividend that have led investors to buy Newell Rubbermaid stock, and if the company can deliver on expectations in the coming years, then its shares could see even further gains. Let's take a closer look at what's been happening with Newell Rubbermaid lately and how it's has helped boost the stock.

What the company does
Newell Rubbermaid has an extensive lineup of well-known products. Its namesake Rubbermaid food storage containers are the ones most associated with the company, but it also makes Calphalon cookware along with Graco strollers and car seats, Dymo label makers and industrial printers, and a full line of pens with brand names like Sharpie, Parker, and Paper Mate.

Interestingly, those different groups have seen disparate results lately. In its most recent quarterly report, Newell Rubbermaid highlighted rising sales in its home and commercial products segments, even as its writing implement business and its tools business suffered. In particular, weak conditions in the office-products retail industry led to a 9% drop in sales in its writing segment, and the company cited the coming merger of Office Depot�and OfficeMax as creating further headwinds as those companies sell off their existing inventory in stores they plan to close.

Hot Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now: Walgreen Co (WAG)

Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), incorporated on February 15, 1909, together with its subsidiaries, operates the drugstore chain in the United States. The Company provides its customers with access to consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services in communities across America. The Company offers its products and services through drugstores, as well as through mails, by telephone and online. The Company sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandises, including household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy. On August 2, 2012, it acquired 45% interest in Alliance Boots GmbH (Alliance Boots). In September 2012, the Company completed the purchase of a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States that included 144 stores operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May��, Med-X and Drug Warehouse names. In September 2012, WP Carey & Co LLC acquired five retail stores leased to Walgreen Co. In December 2012, the Company completed a transaction giving company a ownership stake in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pharmacy LLC.

The Company's pharmacy, health and wellness services include retail, specialty, infusion and respiratory services, mail service, convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers. These services help improve health outcomes and manage costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The Company's Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is a manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the United States.

As of August 31, 2012, Walgreens operated 8,385 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2012, the Company opened or acquired 266 locations for a net increase of 175 locations after relocations and closings. As of August 31, 2012, the Com! pany had 7,930 of Drugstores, 366 of Worksite Health and Wellness Centers, 76 of Infusion and Respiratory Services Facilities, 11 of Specialty Pharmacies and two of Mail Service Facilities. The Company's drugstores are engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy.

The Company offers specialty pharmacy services that provide customers nationwide access to a variety of medications, services and programs for managing complex and chronic health conditions. In addition, the Company offers its customers infusion therapy services, including the administration of intravenous (IV) medications for cancer treatments, chronic pain, heart failure, and other infections and disorders which must be treated by IV. Walgreens provides these infusion services at home, at the workplace, in a physician's office or at a Walgreens alternate treatment site. The Company also provides clinical services, such as laboratory monitoring, medication profile review, nutritional assessments and patient and caregiver education.

Customers can also access the Company's e-commerce solutions, which extend the convenience to purchase most products available within its drugstores, as well as additional products sold exclusively online through its walgreens.com and drugstore.com Websites, including beauty.com and visiondirect.com. The Company's Websites allow consumers to purchase general merchandise including beauty, personal care, home medical equipment, contact lenses, vitamins and supplements and other health and wellness solutions. The Company's mobile applications also allow customers to refill prescriptions through their mobile device, download weekly promotions and find the nearest Walgreens drugstore. The Company also offers services through Take Care Health Systems, which manages its Take Care Clinics at select Wa! lgreens d! rugstores throughout the country.

Alliance Boots is a pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution business. As of March 31, 2012, its fiscal year end, Alliance Boots had, together with its associates and joint ventures, pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in 11 countries and operated more than 3,330 health and beauty retail stores, of which over 3,200 had a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots had approximately 625 optical practices, approximately 185 of which operated on a franchise basis. Its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution businesses, including its associates and joint ventures, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals from over 370 distribution centers in 21 countries.

Alliance Boots�� stores located in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Lithuania and through its associates and joint ventures in Switzerland, China, Italy, Russia and Croatia. In addition, as of March 31, 2012, there were 58 Boots stores operated in the Middle East on a franchised basis. In its Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots has product brands such as No7, Soltan and Botanics, together with other brands, such as Boots Pharmaceuticals and Boots Laboratories. Through its Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and several of its associates, Alliance Boots sells Almus, its line of generic medicines, in five countries and Alvita, its line of patient care products, in six countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]

  Joshua Lott/Getty Images NEW YORK -- Several major U.S. retailers posted disappointing sales for November after cautious shoppers pinched their pennies at the start of a shorter holiday season. Some of the companies that reported sales gains ramped up bargains to bring in shoppers who appeared hesitant to splurge. Costco Wholesale (COST) said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year rose 2 percent, below the 3.3 percent increase analysts were looking for, according to Thomson Reuters. The warehouse club chain said consumer electronics sales fell. Same-store sales at L Brands (LTD), owner of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, also came in below expectations. Its drop of 5.5 percent was far deeper than the 1.1 percent decline analysts were projecting. Wall Street analysts are expecting 11 top retailers to report a 2.7 percent increase in same-store sales for November, according to Thomson Reuters. Excluding drugstore operators, which get two-thirds of revenue from prescriptions, that gain is estimated at 2.3 percent. Gap (GPS) will report its November sales after U.S. markets close. Retailers have been contending with low consumer confidence and the need to prod shoppers with bargains this holiday season, which has six fewer days because of a late Thanksgiving. The National Retail Federation on Sunday said U.S. shoppers had spent 2.9 percent less this year over the Thanksgiving weekend, the kickoff to the holiday season. The Conference Board, an industry group, said last week that U.S. consumer confidence fell in November after a sharp drop in October as Americans worried about their future jobs and earnings prospects. Earlier this week, J.C. Penney (JCP) reported a 10.1 percent comparable sales increase, partially reversing a disastrous decline in 2012, but the department store chain had to resort to aggressive bargains. The "environment will remain as competitive" through the holiday season, Chief Executive Officer Myron Ullman said. I

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2013 results before markets opened Tuesday morning. The drugstore chain reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 on revenues of $17.94 billion. In the same period a year ago, Walgreen reported EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $17.07 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.72 and $17.95 billion in revenue.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Matahari Department Store Tbk PT (LPPF)

PT Matahari Department Store Tbk operates as a multi-format retailer. The Company, based in Indonesia, operates as the Department Store division of Matahari Putra Prima. The Matahari Group is Indonesia's multi-format retailer with core retail businesses in fashion and household groceries businesses targeted for middle - upper middle consumers throughout the country. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Emma O��rien]

  PT Matahari Department Store (LPPF), Indonesia�� largest retailer, climbed 7.7 percent to 14,000 rupiah after the stock was added to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.(SPB)

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer products company worldwide. It offers consumer batteries, including alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, rechargeable batteries and chargers, and hearing aid batteries and other specialty batteries; pet supplies, such as aquatic equipment and supplies, dog and cat treats, small animal foods, clean up and training aids, health and grooming products, and beddings; and home and garden control products comprising household insect controls, insect repellents, and herbicides. The company also provides electric shaving and grooming devices; small appliances, including small kitchen appliances and home product appliances; electric personal care and styling devices; and portable lighting. Its sells its products through various trade channels, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors, hearing aid professionals, industrial distributors, and original equipment manufacturers primarily under t he Rayovac, Remington, Varta, George Foreman, Black & Decker, Toastmaster, Farberware, Tetra, Marineland, Nature?s Miracle, Dingo, 8-in-1, Littermaid, Spectracide, Cutter, Repel, Hot Shot, Black Flag, and TAT brands. The company was headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. As of January 7, 2011, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Harbinger Group Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Consumer products manufacturer Spectrum Brands (SPB) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 30 cents per share, payable on Mar. 18 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 19.
  SPB Dividend Yield: 1.58%

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (RH)

Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc. (Restoration Hardware Holdings), incorporated on August 18, 2011, is a holding company. The Company is merchants of home furnishings. Restoration Hardware Holdings offers merchandise assortments across a number of categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, bath ware, decor, outdoor, garden, and baby and child products. The Company�� business is integrated across its multiple channels of distribution, consists of its stores, catalogs and Websites. As of July 28, 2012, the Company�� operated a total of 73 retail stores, consisted of 71 Galleries and two full line Design Galleries, and 10 outlet stores throughout the United States and Canada. RH is a brand in the home furnishings. During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Company opened five stores and closed 22 stores. In fiscal 2011, the Company distributed approximately 26.1 million catalogs, and its Websites logged over 14.3 million visits.

Restoration Hardware Holdings operates a Website for its Baby & Child brand at www.rhbabyandchild.com. The Company opened its two full line Design Galleries in Los Angeles in, June 2011 and Houston in November 2011. In May 2011, the Company launched catalog applications for Apple�� iPad and iPhone that enable customers to view and purchase its product assortment. Restoration Hardware Holdings operates three store types: the Company's full line Design Gallery format, approximately between 22,000 and 28,000 gross square feet; its Gallery format of approximately 7,000-15,000 gross square feet, and its Baby & Child Gallery format of approximately 2,000-3,000 gross square feet.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Nichols]

  Expansion and high store traffic signal upside
  Last is Restoration Hardware (NYSE: RH  ) , a company whose stock performance is beyond my comprehension. Restoration has doubled in the last year, yet it has lost 20% over the last month.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CSS Industries Inc (CSS)

CSS Industries, Inc. (CSS), incorporated on November 5, 1923, is a company primarily engaged in the design, manufacture, procurement, distribution and sale of seasonal and all occasion social expression products, principally to mass market retailers. These seasonal and all occasion products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper, decorations, classroom exchange Valentines, decorative ribbons and bows, floral accessories, Halloween masks, costumes, make-up and novelties, Easter egg dyes and novelties, craft and educational products, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items that commemorate life�� celebrations. In September 5, 2012, it sold the Halloween portion of its Paper Magic business to Gemmy Industries (HK) Limited.

CSS��product provides its retail customers the opportunity to use a single vendor for much of their seasonal product requirements. A substantial portion of CSS��products are manufactured, packaged and/or warehoused in 10 facilities located in the United States, with the remainder purchased primarily from manufacturers in Asia and Mexico. The Company�� products are sold to its customers by national and regional account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists and by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� principal operating subsidiaries include Paper Magic Group, Inc. (Paper Magic), Berwick Offray LLC (Berwick Offray) and C.R. Gibson, LLC (C.R. Gibson). CSS designs, manufactures, procures, distributes and sells a range of seasonal consumer products primarily through the mass market distribution channel. Christmas products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper and decorations. CSS��Valentine product offerings include classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valen! tine products, while its Easter product offerings include Dudley�� brand of Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products. CSS also designs and markets decorative ribbons and bows, all occasion boxed greeting cards, gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, decorative and waxed tissue, decorative films and foils, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, floral accessories and other gift and craft items to its mass market, craft, specialty and floral retail and wholesale distribution customers, and teachers' aids and other learning oriented products to the education market through mass market retailers, school supply distributors and teachers' stores. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Dudley��, Don Post Studios, Eureka, Learning Playground, Stickerfitti and iota. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley��, Eureka, Learning Playground and Stickerfitti.

CSS operates 10 manufacturing and/or distribution facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas. Its boxed greeting cards are produced by Asian manufacturers to the Company�� specifications. Halloween make-up and Easter egg dye products are manufactured in Asia to specific formulae by contract manufacturers who meet regulatory requirements for the formularization and packaging of such products. Ribbons and bows are primarily manufactured and warehoused in seven facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas. Memory books, stationery, journals and notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items are imported from Asian manufacturers and warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Florence, Alabama. Floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags and other paper! and film! products, are manufactured in a facility located in Milford, New Hampshire and Juarez, Mexico. Manufacturing includes gravure and flexo printing, waxing and converting. Products are warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Berwick, Pennsylvania. Other products including, but not limited to, decorative tissue paper, all occasion gift wrap, gift tags, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, classroom exchange Valentine products, Halloween masks, costumes and novelties, Easter products, decorations and school products are designed to the specifications of CSS and are imported primarily from Asian manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Gifts maker�CSS Industries� (NYSE: CSS  ) �announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.15 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Burberry Group PLC (BURBY)

Burberry Group plc (Burberry) is a holding company. The Company designs and sources luxury apparel and accessories, selling through a diversified network of retail (including digital), wholesale and licensing channels worldwide. The Company�� Retail/wholesale channel is engaged in the sale of luxury goods through Burberry mainline stores, concessions, outlets and digital commerce, as well as Burberry franchisees, prestige department stores globally and multi-brand specialty accounts. The Company�� retail channel includes approximately 206 mainline stores, 214 concessions within department stores, digital commerce and 49 outlets. The Company�� wholesale channel includes sales to department stores, multi-brand specialty accounts, Travel Retail and franchisees who operates approximately 65 Burberry stores. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Rambourg’s favored luxury stocks include Burberry (BURBY), Richemont, Coach (COH)…and Tiffany, whose “higher-end repositioning, along with lower raw material prices, should continue to support the stock,” he says.

• [By Charles Riley]

  2. Shop some more: While most sellers on Taobao are small businesses, big brands are found on Tmall, a marketplace Alibaba launched in 2008. Retailers including Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Gap (GPS), Marks & Spencer, Esprit (ESHDF) and Burberry (BURBY) all operate storefronts on the website.

• [By Reuters]

  Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBurberry Group CEO Angela Ahrendts. LONDON -- Christopher Bailey, the designer credited with restoring the cachet to fashion brand Burberry, is to become chief executive next year when long-standing boss Angela Ahrendts will move to Apple. The 157-year-old British fashion house, famous for its camel, red and black check pattern, said Tuesday that Ahrendts would step down by mid-2014 after which Bailey would combine his role as chief creative officer with chief executive. News the 42-year-old Yorkshireman would hold both positions sparked concern among some analysts that he might be taking on too much, and sent shares in the group down 6 percent in early trading, valuing the business at 6.6 billion pounds. "There will undoubtedly be relief that Mr. Bailey, the driving force behind the brand for the last 12 years, is staying," Morgan Stanley (MS) said in a note to clients. "But we anticipate some investor concern about combining the chief creative officer and CEO roles, which are both time consuming and require very different skill sets." Ahrendts, who has been Burberry (BURBY) boss for eight years, during which time its share price has soared about 250 percent, will take up a newly created position at Apple as a senior vice president with oversight of retail and online stores. She will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Ahrendts will be looking to do better than the last chief executive of a British company who left London to join Apple (AAPL) -- John Browett who quit Dixons to lead the iPad and iPhone maker's global retail expansion in 2012. He left six months later. Bailey joined Burberry in 2001 and has held the major creative role for six years, helping to rebuild the group after it became a victim of its own success in the 1990s when its trademark pattern was embraced by the mass market, losing its appeal to its core wealthy clientele. Under Ahrendts and Bailey, the group has refocused on the luxury market, inc

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: O'Reilly Automotive Inc.(ORLY)

O?Reilly Automotive, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States. The company?s stores provide new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, including alternators, starters, fuel pumps, water pumps, brake system components, batteries, belts, hoses, chassis parts, and engine parts; maintenance items comprising oil, antifreeze, fluids, filters, wiper blades, lighting, engine additives, and appearance products; and accessories, such as floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories. Its stores also offer auto body paint and related materials, automotive tools, and professional service provider service equipment. The company?s stores sell its brand name and private label products for domestic and imported automobiles, vans, and trucks to do-it-yourself customers and professional service providers. As of March 31, 2011, it operated 3,613 stores. The company was foun ded in 1957 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CanadianValue]

  At the end of 2011, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and O��eilly Automotive (ORLY) were the fifth- and tenth-largest positions in the Fund, respectively, and together constituted 6.2% of our assets. Auto parts retail is a difficult business for all but the most efficient players. An auto parts retailer must carry literally thousands of hard parts for hundreds of models of cars. Not many people walk in the door needing an alternator for a 1994 Ford, but the person who does is probably experiencing a crisis. The retailer who can manage a substantial investment in slow-turning parts inventory is able to earn a high margin on sales.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Advance Auto Parts has gained 16% to $95.61, while Autozone has risen 0.8% to $423.49, O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) has advanced 2% to $131.64 and Pep Boys (PBY) is up 1% at $12.50.