retail sales

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Retail Sales Take Steep Plunge

Fall twice as far as anticipated

(Newser) - Retail sales fell more than twice as much as analysts predicted in December, thanks to mounting job losses and reduced credit, Bloomberg reports. Sales fell 2.7%, extending the longest string of declines on record to 6 consecutive months. Purchases excluding automobiles slid 3.1%. “Consumers are pulling back,...

Trib Goes Tabloid on Weekdays
 Trib Goes Tabloid on Weekdays 
Jan 13, 2009 2:41 PM CST

Trib Goes Tabloid on Weekdays

Newspaper will be smaller on newsstands, remain broadsheet for home deliveries

(Newser) - The Chicago Tribune is changing its street-sale format from broadsheet to tabloid beginning next week, the newspaper reports. The move, which will affect weekday retail editions but not subscription copies, puts the paper in direct competition with its rival, the Chicago Sun-Times, which has long published in the format. The...

Borders Cans Top Brass After Dismal Holiday Season

Bookseller reports 12% drop over '07, replaces CEO, others

(Newser) - Borders will immediately restructure top management to counter a steep slide in sales, the Ann Arbor News reports. CEO George Jones has been replaced with Ron Marshall, a turnaround expert with book experience. Other top spots were shuffled to veterans of the Michigan-based company. The bookseller announced today that its...

'Sea Change' In Store for Retail

Shops to shut, brands to fold as bankruptcies soar

(Newser) - Shaken by a tough holiday season and bracing for more trouble, the retail scene may look very different in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some stores will be reducing inventory and cutting suppliers, which could force small manufacturers to fold. Retail bankruptcies could abound. "We will have a...

Amazon Has 'Best Ever' Holiday Season

Online retailer beat the market with HDTVs, iPods, and Wii

(Newser) - The Grinch apparently didn’t sour shoppers on Amazon this year: The company said today the 2008 holiday season was its “best ever,” MarketWatch reports. Amazon sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on Dec. 15, its peak day, amounting to “a record-breaking 72.9 items...

Stocks Get Post-Holiday Bump
 Stocks Get Post-Holiday Bump 
MARKET Open
Dec 26, 2008 8:54 AM CST

Stocks Get Post-Holiday Bump

Dow up mildly on light trading

(Newser) - Stocks saw a modest uptick this morning, despite a consumer spending report seemingly designed to puncture post-holiday cheer. The Dow rose 40.93 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq added 3.86 and 5.81, respectively. But volume was extremely low, as many Wall Street denizens took the day...

No Christmas Miracle for Retailers
 No Christmas  
 Miracle for Retailers 


RETAIL SALES
Dec 26, 2008 1:57 AM CST

No Christmas Miracle for Retailers

Even luxury sector sales in free fall

(Newser) - It was a bleak Christmas and promises to be a less than prosperous New Year for retailers with consumers tightening their belts and spending less, reports the Wall Street Journal. Retail sales dropped 5.5% in November and 8% in December, compared with the same months last year. Luxury goods,...

Storms Threaten to Wipe Out Retailers' Last Hopes

Double whammy for desperate stores struggling to sell in last holiday week

(Newser) - Retailers were extending hours and cutting prices deeper in a last-ditch attempt to attract a final wave of holiday shoppers and mitigate the impact of major storms in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast, Reuters reports. Some two-thirds of shoppers still have holiday shopping left to do, according to surveys, but...

Recession Bites Into Apple
 Recession Bites Into Apple 
Dec 16, 2008 4:57 AM CST

Recession Bites Into Apple

November sales down, stock falls

(Newser) - Even apparently recession-proof Apple is now beginning to show signs of strain, and some analysts are predicting a major slowdown for the computer giant next year, the Wall Street Journal reports. US sales of Macs last month declined 1% over a year ago, while PC sales rose 2%. One analyst...

Declines in Gift Cards, Self-Splurges Hurt Retailers

(Newser) - Naughty or nice, America’s retail stores can’t look forward to two of the holiday season’s usual boons: gift card sales and “self-gifting” splurges, MarketWatch reports. About 44% of shoppers say they will not buy gift cards this year, up from 26% last year, a marketing study...

Concerned, NASCAR Watches Sponsors Downshift

Economy, viewership make advertisers shy away

(Newser) - The unthinkable is happening to NASCAR: Its ubiquitous sponsors have begun heading for the exits, setting up the unheard-of prospect of fans glimpsing a bit of car beneath all the corporate logos. The economic downturn is partly to blame, but falling viewership numbers have also contributed to sponsors' newfound hesitancy...

Retailers Post Worst Month This Decade

But Wal-Mart, other discounters profit from downturn

(Newser) - November was the worst month for retail in a decade, reports the Financial Times, as stores from Macy's to Abercrombie & Fitch posted double-digit falls in sales. Mid-market stores like Target posted worse-than-expected numbers, while department stores crashed. But giant Wal-Mart, leading a small number of discounters, managed to...

Stocks Go South at Bell
 Stocks 
 Go South 
 at Bell 

MARKET Open
Dec 4, 2008 8:48 AM CST

Stocks Go South at Bell

Dow down 150

(Newser) - Stocks took a modest dip at the open, amid a weak round of retail sales numbers and general economic pessimism. The Dow fell 81 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq dropped 1.3% and 1.4% respectively, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stocks started to the downside yesterday, but...

Shoppers Can't Halt Commercial Mortgage Crisis

Retailers will default, no matter how many sweaters you buy today

(Newser) - Black Friday shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market. Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, SC, also are about...

Downturn Derails Dell's Turnaround

Cost-cutting kills off plans for flashy new product lines

(Newser) - Shifting consumer demand and the sagging economy spell trouble for Dell's turnaround strategy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Founder Michael Dell had been making progress since returning to the company last year with a two-pronged rescue plan, but weak sales mean his goals of cutting costs at the low end...

Retail Pummels Stocks; Dow Off 338
 Retail Pummels Stocks;
 Dow Off 338 
MARKETS
Nov 14, 2008 3:24 PM CST

Retail Pummels Stocks; Dow Off 338

Weekly declines inflated by Friday sell-off

(Newser) - Poor earnings dragged the markets down today, as consumers’ reluctance to spend continues to hammer firms reliant on discretionary spending, MarketWatch reports. The day's losses capped weekly declines of at least 5% for all the indices. The Dow fell 337.94 to close at 8,497. The Nasdaq lost 79....

Stocks Sink on Record Retail Plunge
 Stocks Sink on 
 Record Retail Plunge 
MARKET Open
Nov 14, 2008 8:46 AM CST

Stocks Sink on Record Retail Plunge

Host of negative news hurts markets

(Newser) - Stocks tumbled at the open today, after a raft of negative news overshadowed yesterday’s big rally. The Dow fell 128 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P shed 2% and 1.8% respectively. The Dow shot up more than 500 points yesterday, but today brought a dismal quarterly report...

Cash-Strapped Shoppers Remember Layaway

No-interest credit appeals to consumers

(Newser) - With consumers strapped and credit short, retailers are reviving an older kind of financing: layaway. Although the arrangement was considered obsolete when Wal-Mart closed its layaway department in 2006, retailers such as TJ Maxx, Goody’s, Marshalls and the Burlington Coat Factory have moved to offer the service, especially as...

Staggering Slowdown Hits Retail Sales

Ominous sign of dismal holiday season

(Newser) - Retail sales plummeted last month ahead of the holiday shopping season—which threatens to be the worst in decades, the New York Times reports. The downturn ran the gamut from upscale department stores to shops like the Gap. Neiman Marcus saw a 28% drop compared with the same month last...

Dow Off 400+ Again, Below 9K
 Dow Off 400+ Again, Below 9K 
MARKETS
Nov 6, 2008 3:30 PM CST

Dow Off 400+ Again, Below 9K

Worrisome news on retail, jobs sink stocks

(Newser) - Stocks added to yesterday’s deep declines with the major indices registering falls of 4%-5% today, MarketWatch reports. A string of poor retail reports soured confidence ahead of tomorrow’s October unemployment report, expected to be grim. The Dow fell 443.48, dropping below the 9,000 mark to 8,...

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