Jerry O’Brien, director of the Kohl’s Center for Retailing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told CNBC the tax cuts could result in a bigger gap between luxury retailers (i.e. Tiffany, Hudson’s Bay, Neiman Marcus and Tapestry) and other players, though he said off-price brands will continue to outperform in 2018. This leaves the “middle ground” of the industry at risk, he added.