More evidence that focused specialty realtors are thriving during a difficult retail season. Aeropostale and Urban Outfitters both reported strong sales growth. The key, as always, is knowing who your customer is and focusing on serving that customer''s needs in a way to no one else does:

"What they're demonstrating with these strong results is how successful a well-focused, differentiated retailer can be. Or in this case, two retailers: Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Both have shown a reason for being that consumers respond very favorably to," said UBS Warburg analyst Richard Jaffe.