This Week's Top Stories in Retail
Columbus, Ohio (February 28, 2008) Limited Brands Inc said Thursday that it is cutting the number of real estate projects planned for this year as it tries to improve results in its stores.
The retailer, which operates the Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, made the comments during a conference call. It said the reduction in real estate projects should lower its planned capital expenditures by $85 million.
On Wednesday, Limited Brands said its fourth-quarter profit fell 12% on a substantial decline in sales following last summer's decision to get out of the apparel business. Weak store traffic and scaled-back circulation of its Victoria's Secret catalog also contributed to the decline.
Read MoreHoffman Estates, Ill. (February 28, 2008) Sears Holdings Corp. Thursday said fourth-quarter profit tumbled 47%, due to poor performance at its Kmart and U.S. Sears stores.
The company said earnings dropped to $426 million from $811 million a year ago. Revenue slipped to $15.07 billion from $16.18 billion.
The performance was in line with Wall Street forecasts after the ailing company warned last month that eroding sales might push its profit down as much as 57%. Sears Holdings, which is searching for a chief executive and seeking to reorganize its operations, warned in mid-January that quarterly profit would decline.
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New York City (February 28, 2008) Cherokee Inc. on Wednesday announced the completion of a licensing agreement between Norma Kamali, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Under the terms of the multi-year deal, the fashion company will create an exclusive collection for the discounter that will include women's wear, children's clothing, accessories, footwear and home items. The collection will be offered in select Wal-Mart stores beginning in fall 2008.
"My life dream has been to promote self esteem for women and wellness for the entire family," said Norma Kamali, president and designer of Norma Kamali, Inc. "Now I have the opportunity with Wal-Mart to create products that combine my design experiences with great value and innovative ideas to fulfill this dream. Through the Wal-Mart stores and Web site I can reach more people and affect more lives than in any other venue."
Cincinnati (February 28, 2008) Macy's, Inc. Thursday announced that Tony Spring has been named president of its New York City-based Bloomingdale's division, effective immediately.
Since 2005, Spring has served as Bloomingdale's senior executive VP and director of stores, with additional responsibility for Bloomingdale's shopping services and creative services.
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New York City (February 28, 2008) Tiffany & Co. on Thursday said it will unveil its new, smaller-format concept in mid-October 2008, in Glendale, Calif. The approximately 2,600-sq.-ft. store will be located in The Americana at Brand, a new 900,000-sq.-ft. retail and residential environment developed by Caruso Affiliated.
"This exciting new concept is simply a new way of looking at Tiffany, and The Americana at Brand is the ideal location to unveil it," said Beth O. Canavan, executive VP of Tiffany & Co.
Cincinnati (February 28, 2008) Macy's announced Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profits were up slightly, from $733 million to $750 million in the three months ended Feb. 2. According to the company, a tax settlement helped offset the impact of weaker-than-anticipated sales.
Sales in the fourth-quarter revenue fell 6% to $8.59 billion. Analysts expected $8.62 billion. Same-store sales fell 2%.
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Fort Worth, Texas (February 28, 2008) RadioShack Corp. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings rose 20% as the company cut operating costs. Net income rose to $101 million from $84.5 million in the year-ago period.
Total sales fell 6% to $1.36 billion. Same-store sales dropped 6.7%. RadioShack blamed the decline on fewer postpaid wireless and satellite radio contracts.
For the year, profit more than tripled to $236.8 million, and sales fell 11% to $4.25 billion. Same-store sales dropped 8.2%.
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New York City (February 28, 2008) Consumers in the United States spent an average of 2.6 hours researching products online, an increase of 30% from 2006. Consumers in China spend even more time at the same task, averaging 3.5 hours. Those are among the findings in new research from Netpop.
"Today, more than ever, multichannel marketing is key to reaching your customers," said Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen LLC, the creator of Netpop. "The consumer is now involved in the purchase process to a greater degree than ever before, with the information and autonomy to make highly informed decisions based on a combination of online and traditional media sources."
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New York City (February 28, 2008) A midday explosion on Thursday afternoon at a small strip mall in Waukegan, Ill., injuring several people, collapsed roofs and left mounds of rubble, according to CNN.com. Waukegan is 40 miles north of Chicago.
Desiree Rogers, president of North Shore Gas Co., said its crews were turning off the gas lines into the mall so firefighters can search the
rubble for anyone who may be trapped, and to begin trying to determine the cause of the blast. "We do know there was an explosion. Until the firefighters get in there and ... we can get to our equipment and take a closer look, it is premature to say exactly what has caused this," Rogers told CNN.
New York City (February 28, 2008) Consumers in the United States spent an average of 2.6 hours researching products online, an increase of 30% from 2006. Consumers in China spend even more time at the same task, averaging 3.5 hours. Those are among the findings in new research from Netpop.
"Today, more than ever, multichannel marketing is key to reaching your customers," said Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen LLC, the creator of Netpop. "The consumer is now involved in the purchase process to a greater degree than ever before, with the information and autonomy to make highly informed decisions based on a combination of online and traditional media sources."
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Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. (February 28, 2008) Wal-Mart Stores has entered into an agreement with DVD-rental company Redbox to expand the supplier's automated DVD rental kiosks to the majority of its 3,542 stores nationwide.
Currently available at nearly 800 U.S. Wal-Mart locations, Redbox will install kiosks at approximately 2,700 additional Wal-Mart stores beginning in the first half of 2008 and continuing into 2009. Each fully automated Redbox kiosk holds more than 500 DVDs, representing 100 to 150 of the newest movie releases, with new titles available every Tuesday. Consumers use a touchscreen to select their favorite movies, swipe a valid credit or debit card, and go.
Pleasanton, Calif. (February 28, 2008) Safeway is eliminating 69 jobs at its corporate headquarters in California and plans similar cuts at regional headquarters in other parts of the country. The job cuts won't affect any workers at the chain's 1,743 stores or its distribution centers. A Safeway spokesman said the cuts represent "modest staff reductions" designed to control expenses. Aside from the 69 jobs eliminated at its corporate home, the company did not specify the total number of jobs scheduled to be cut, though one published report put the number at 400 for more than a half-dozen regional offices ranging from Arizona to Virginia.
Safeway reported total sales of $42.3 billion for fiscal 2007 and earnings of $888 million but faces growing competition from rivals including newcomer Tesco, which plans to have 300 stores open in Safeway's markets by the end of 2008.
Dallas (February 27, 2008) Zale Corp. said Wednesday it will close more stores and cut 20% of its headquarters staff to save more than $65 million a year.
The company said it would close another 23 stores, bringing the number it expects to shutter by the end of July to 105. That would leave about 2,145 stores and kiosks under several brands including Zales Jewelers and Piercing Pagoda.
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Foothill Ranch, Calif. (February 27, 2008) Wet Seal Inc. said Tuesday its COO has resigned to become chief executive of a subsidiary of European retailer PPR SA.
Wet Seal Inc. said Tuesday its COO has resigned to become chief executive of a subsidiary of European retailer PPR SA.
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Minneapolis (February 27, 2008) Best Buy has named new leaders for its home technology, digital business and international strategy, the company said Wednesday.
Best Buy appointed Michael Vitelli to executive VP of its customer-operating groups. Vitelli will lead Best Buy's PC mobility, home solutions and entertainment-operating groups and will oversee its enterprise merchandising and its private-label business.
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New York (February 27, 2008) Tesco insists its U.S. expansion plans are on track amid growing speculation that the initial performance of its new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market concept has fallen short of expectations, according to a report on Financial Times' web site, FT.com.
There have been widespread anecdotal reports that Fresh & Easy's stores have been failing to attract customers at the rate needed. However, Tesco said in a statement yesterday that the stores were "proving very popular." It added: "What we are seeing is growing sales and growing customer numbers."
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Henderson, Nev. (February 27, 2008) Zappos has dropped its free guaranteed overnight shipping and price-matching initiatives.
"We decided to remove our price protection policy from Zappos because we didn't feel it was consistent with our goal of making Zappos customer service-focused as opposed to price-focused," CEO Tony Hsieh wrote on his blog this week.
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Chesapeake, Va. (February 27, 2008) Dollar Tree Stores Inc. said Wednesday its fourth quarter profit slipped 3% compared to last year's quarterly results, when an extra week of sales boosted results.
For the quarter ended Feb. 2, net income fell to $94.7 million from $97.6 million in the prior year quarter. Sales fell nearly 2% to $1.3 billion from $1.32 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.
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Chicago (February 27, 2008) Walgreens announced plans to roll out RedBox DVD rental kiosks to more than 2,000 stores through 2009 after testing them in a handful of markets.
Walgreens began testing the kiosks that rent DVDs for $1 a day in about 50 stores in Chicago and Houston in 2006 and expanded that test last November to 200 stores in Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. It currently has the kiosks in about 250 stores and will add them in 1,800 more during the next two years.
Richmond, Va. (February 26, 2008) A shareholder group for Circuit City Stores said Tuesday it plans to nominate five candidates to the retailer's 12-member board.
Circuit City said Wattles Capital Management LLC plans to nominate the slate for seats on the board of directors at its annual shareholders' meeting June 24. The proxy filing was disclosed after the close of regular trading Monday.
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New Orleans (February 26, 2008) The chairman of Barnes & Noble announced Tuesday that he is committing $20 million for housing in New Orleans. The amount, believed to be the largest single philanthropic project in the city since Hurricane Katrina, is from Leonard Riggio's family foundation and is intended to build new houses for residents displaced by the storm 2 1/2 years ago.
New York City (February 26, 2008) According to a Tuesday report by market researcher NPD Group, Apple's iTunes is now the No. 2 music retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart. The report measured unit volume.
NPD said that iTunes moved into second place due to the amount of music it sold during 2007, which was based on a 12-track CD equivalency for song downloads. NPD also said that the amount of music consumers bought in the United States rose 6% in 2007, though the decline in CD sales and increase in legal digital-download sales still led to a 10% overall decrease in music spending.
Minneapolis (February 26, 2008) Target announced Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profits fell, but that results were somewhat better than Wall Street had expected.
Earnings fell 8% to $1.03 billion, from $1.12 billion last year. Revenue edged up nearly 1% to $19.87 billion, from $19.71 billion last year.
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Delray Beach, Fla. (February 26, 2008) Office Depot announced on Tuesday that Patricia McKay, executive VP and CFO, has resigned effective March 1. Charles Brown, Office Depot's president, international, will serve as acting CFO following McKay's departure, the company reported.
Brown was Office Depot's executive VP and CFO from 2001 to 2005. Office Depot said it plans to begin its search for a permanent CFO immediately and will announce a successor when this process is completed.
Chicago (February 26, 2008) ShopperTrak RCT Corp.'s National Retail Sales Estimate, a national benchmark of retail sales, reported on Tuesday that sales for the week ending Feb. 23 increased a slight 2.0% as compared to the same time period in 2007.
The report also found that both year-over-year and week-over-week sales returned to more seasonal levels last week following the strong increase retailers experienced the previous week (ending Feb. 19) which contained both Valentine's and President's Day holiday spending. Read More
Del Ray Beach, Fla. (February 26, 2008) Office Depot announced Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 85% as sales in North America slipped and last year's period benefited from a gain from the sale of a building.
Earnings fell to $18.8 million, compared with $126.6 million a year earlier. The company said revenue rose 1% to $3.87 billion from $3.84 billion in the previous year. North American retail sales fell 3%.
Seattle (February 25, 2008) Nordstrom Inc. on Monday said its profit fell more than 8% in the fourth quarter amid a holiday shopping season it called "challenging."
The retailer said Monday it earned $212 million down from $232 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales slipped more than 4% to $2.5 billion, in line with Wall Street estimates and down from $2.6 billion last year.
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New York (February 25, 2008) The former chief executive of The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. has filed a complaint demanding the children's clothing retailer move up its annual meeting, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
On Friday, Ezra Dabah requested that the company hold its annual meeting within 45 days of his filing the complaint. The meeting is currently scheduled for June 27. The last meeting was held June 22, 2006.
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New York (February 25, 2008) Sears Holdings Corp. spent more than $280,000 in 2007 to lobby the federal government, the Associated Press reported.
The company spent $140,539 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress on credit-card fees, the transition to digital television, copyright issues, product safety and data security, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 11 by the Senate's public records office.
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New York (February 25, 2008) Kroger Co. has launched a national internal television network called KTV for its employees, according to BusinessRockford.com.
According to reports, KTV will mainly be used for employee development, saving costs by allowing them to receive training without having to travel. Kroger is said to be producing a full broadcast schedule of original programs. The programs will be both recorded and live, allowing for interaction between employees.
Atlanta (February 22, 2008) Haverty Furniture Cos. reported an earnings plunge in 2007, hurt by weaker sales.
The Atlanta-based furniture retailer had a net income of $1.8 million on $784.6 million in sales, compared with a net income of $16 million on $859.1 million in sales in 2006.
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Abilene, Kan. (February 22, 2008) Bruce Dale has resigned as president and CEO of Duckwall-ALCO Stores, the company announced Friday. Dale joined Duckwall-ALCO in 2005 at the start of its initiative to revitalize the company.
The company said it has begun a search for a new CEO. Donny Johnson, senior VP and CFO, will assume the role of interim CEO until a replacement is found.
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New York (February 22, 2008) Harris Teeter plans to build 15 new stores this year as part of an effort to remain prosperous in an increasingly competitive environment, managers of its parent company said Thursday.
"We believe this focus will continue to set us apart," said Tad Dickson, CEO of Ruddick Corp. Dickson spoke at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Charlotte.
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New York (February 22, 2008) Starbucks Corp. said on Thursday it would eliminate 600 jobs as it works to turn around stagnating U.S. coffee shops in the face of a weak economy. Chief executive Howard Schultz, who made the announcement in an e-mail to employees, is slated to share details of the company's strategy at a shareholder meeting on March 19.
Starbucks laid off 220 employees on Thursday. One-third of them worked in Seattle, spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said. Those employees performed a variety of duties from finance to design and marketing.
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Dallas (February 22, 2008) Zale Corp. said Thursday that profit dropped 31% in its second-quarter due to declining same-store sales.
New CEO Neal Goldberg called the results disappointing but said the company was reducing excess inventory and would make its stores more appealing to price-sensitive customers.
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Sidney, Neb. (February 22, 2008) Cabela's Inc. said revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, 2007, increased 13.9% to $889.5 million compared to $781.0 million from the same period of the year before.
Net income increased 5.4% to $56.2 million in the quarter, compared to $53.4 million of the previous year.
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