Wed Jun 07 12:00:00 -0400 2006

Bloomberg (New York, NY)

The independent retail research company founded by Dana Telsey, the No. 1 ranked retail-industry analyst by Institutional Investor magazine, will start publishing its own research in August. Telsey, 43, who left Bear Stearns Cos. in February after 12 years, has hired a team of 19 people at Telsey Advisory Group to follow industries including consumer electronics, retail chains, department stores, discounters, apparel retailers and luxury brands.

“I started this company to fill the growing need for independent research that provides both depth of analysis in companies and industries,” Telsey said in an interview in Milan last week during a trip to visit European retail and luxury companies. ``We are very excited and think this can be a big business with many opportunities for growth.’‘

Telsey Advisory Group will be covering companies that range from the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to the world’s largest luxury company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, including earnings estimates.

By Sara Gay Forden