Chico's Tries Plain Talk, Pfizer Fakes It

As an aside -- and before the unfavorable comparison with Pfizer -- I want to point out a good feature in a report written just after Chico's earnings release, from our own TheStreet.com. Chico's met its lowered estimates, as we were told, but as you know, it always grieves The Business Press Maven that we are rarely told up front whether the company last guided estimates a year ago or 27 minutes before the earnings release.

It is an important distinction, as it gives investor a clue on how well the company has a handle on what is going on and, possibly, what the most recent trends in the business have been. Well, there we have it, right near the top and immediately after the line about consensus estimates: "The results were in line with Chico's forecast earlier this month when the company posted disappointing October sales and lowered its third-quarter earnings projections to the range of 22 cents to 25 cents a share." Music, a veritable symphony, to The Business Press Maven's ears!

Now the scratchy sound of Pfizer.

The troubled drug kingpin announced layoffs, and the implications are key. Pfizer needed to lay off about 20% of its sales force to cut costs in an increasingly challenging, patent-free environment. But the reality is, it's going to be a struggle for it to innovate and sell its way back to relevancy with a scaled-down sales force. The company's sales force was once one of its golden features.