'WE'RE NOT ALONE IN THIS': Container Store CEO Warns Of A Retail Funk

REUTERS/Andrew KellyA Container Store signage is seen in New York.

On Tuesday afternoon, The Container Store Group announced that its comparable store sales fell 0.8%, which led to a wider than expected net loss of $0.07 per share.

However, CEO Kip Tindell isn't convinced this is a company-specific problem.

"Consistent with so many of our fellow retailers, we are experiencing a retail 'funk," Tindell said in the company's earnings announcement.

"We are confident that customer enthusiasm for our brand, and employee morale are at all time highs, yet we continue to experience slight traffic declines in this surprisingly tepid retail environment. While consumers are buying homes and automobiles and even high ticket furniture, most segments of retail are, like us, seeing more challenging sales than we had hoped early in 2014 - so we're not alone in this."

Following a chilly winter that froze economic growth, economists have been anticipating a sharp snapback in activity for Q2 and the second half of the year.

"Are there any potential alternative explanations for a "surprisingly tepid retail environment"?" asked Marc Andreessen.

If Tindell is right, then it may be prudent to be a bit more cautious as we wait for the final economic data to come out.