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May wasn't the best month for big retailers, but it wasn't the worst. That was April, which literally was the worst retail month ever. We got the numbers for May this morning, and they're mixed. Wal-Mart had pretty disappointing numbers while Costco and Nordstrom did better than expected. The bottom line is people are still spending, but they're being kinda careful with their money.
06/07/07 08:22 AM PT Posted on June 7, 2007 8:22 AM PTBack to banana
What's yellow, about 150 calories and smells like a banana? It's a Twinkie. In a blast from the past, the spongy cake treat is now offering a banana creme center — the way they used to make 'em back before World War II, before a wartime banana shortage forced Hostess to switch to vanilla. The company has offered the original flavor in the past for limited-time promotions and profits were Twinkielicious: The last time sales rose by 20 percent. Now it's making the banana option permanent.
06/13/07 04:21 AM PT Posted on June 13, 2007 4:21 AM PTGot a little change in our pockets...
Despite gas prices, despite the housing slump, Americans went shopping in May. Retail sales shot up 1.4 percent. That's the best month since January of 2006 and the increase is double what economists predicted. This is a clear sign the economy is rebounding from a blah start to the year. Consumer spending is a huge part of the economy — it makes up 70 percent of GDP.
Bracing for iPhone
If you need anything from your neighborhood Apple or AT&T store, might we suggest you go before June 29. That's when Apple's highly-anticipated iPhone goes on sale and it's expected to cause quite a commotion. The device will only be available at those shops, and demand is expected to be so great that AT&T is hiring 2,000 temporary workers as well as enhanced security to handle the extra shoppers for a couple months.
Of course, they might get bored pretty quickly. AT&T execs are predicting that iPhone will sell out within a day, maybe two.
Kraft's becoming king of crackers
Kraft Foods confirmed it's looking to put the cookie and cereal division of French food company Groupe Danone (you know it as Dannon here in the States) in its shopping cart for $7.2 billion. Kraft says the European headquarters of the biscuit biz will stay in France for the foreseeable future. Both companies expect the sale to close by the end of the year.
07/03/07 06:53 AM PT Posted on July 3, 2007 6:53 AM PTThere is a such thing as too many questions
Sprint Nextel sent Dear John letters to a thousand customers telling them 'it's over.' Apparently, these people were calling customer service 40 to 50 times a month, asking the same questions over and over and over and over — and Sprint says they were simply draining too many customer service resources. The ex-customers won't have to pay a termination fee or even their final bill. So if you really want out of your cell phone contract and you've got a lot of free time on your hands...
07/10/07 04:26 AM PT Posted on July 10, 2007 4:26 AM PTLayered-look is going out of style
Liz Claiborne has been hurting from a downturn in department store sales. An announcement is expected today, reports The Wall Street Journal, that the apparel company wants to divest itself of 16 of its 36 brands — a move that could mean up to 800 job losses. Among the lines it's expected to try to sell or discontinue: Laundry, Sigrid Olsen, Ellen Tracy and Dana Buchman.
07/11/07 04:21 AM PT Posted on July 11, 2007 4:21 AM PTGTA IV stuck in the shop
Virtual car thieves are in for a long wait. Take-Two Interactive is postponing the release of Grand Theft Auto IV because the video game's just not ready. It was due out in two months, but now the release has been pushed back to Spring '08. Analysts say this could create ripple effects for the entire video game industry during the holiday selling season. The latest edition of the wildly popular series was expected to drive sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
You'll still have to go out for fresh donuts but...
Dunkin' Donuts thinks there's a hole in the retail coffee market and it has the perfect filling. Dunkin' has struck a deal with Procter & Gamble, that'll put its packaged java in Wal-Mart, Kroger and CVS stores. The move coincides with Dunkin's expansion into the West and South. The company plans to triple stores in the US to 15,000 by 2020.
08/13/07 04:52 AM PT Posted on August 13, 2007 4:52 AM PTSinging the Big Box blues
We got some numbers from Wal-Mart and Home Depot this morning that say a lot about the U.S. economy. Wal-Mart turned in smaller-than-expected profits for the second quarter — and cut its profit forecast for the year. CEO Lee Scott blamed economic pressure on his customer base, saying it's no secret people are running out of money toward the end of each month. And Home Depot reported a 15 percent drop in quarterly profits. Just two words explain that one: housing market.
08/14/07 06:21 AM PT Posted on August 14, 2007 6:21 AM PTContaminated in China
Made in China has never sounded so ominous. Yesterday, Mattel announced a second recall of nearly 20 million Chinese-made toys, many with magnets inside and some with too much lead paint. It turns out China may have known about the magnet issue as far back as March. Someone with the China Toy Association confirmed today that the group has known about the potential dangers for several months, but she didn't explain why it took so long to do something about it. Mattel says with further testing, more recalls could be on the way.
And today there's a new kid staple to add to the list: baby bibs. The New York Times reports some brands of vinyl bibs sold at Toys"R"Us appear to be contaminated with lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says their own tests of baby bibs found any lead present was low enough that it wouldn't harm a kid chewing on or rubbing the vinyl. There is a potential risk of lead exposure if babies swallow pieces of cracked vinyl used on the bibs, but the agency hasn't pushed for a recall.
Steve Jobs: iSorry
Yesterday Apple offered early buyers of the iPhone an apology. The gadget's been on the market for two months with a $599 price tag. Then Wednesday Apple cut the price by $200. iPhoners felt as though they'd been slapped in the face and buyer unrest was e-mailed fast and furiously, Apple chief Steve Jobs offered a $100 store credit to users who paid the original price.
Trying to go Green-Mart
Wal-Mart is looking to dress itself in a little more green. The Financial Times reports today the retail giant will ask its suppliers to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. Wal-Mart will start with a pilot group of companies in seven product categories-- DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners and soft drinks. Wal-Mart plans on using the data to cut costs by being able to compare similar companies and figuring out which are less efficient. It's the biggest effort to get emissions reports from businesses.
09/24/07 06:47 AM PT Posted on September 24, 2007 6:47 AM PTMaybe an extra bag of Snickers this year
With all of the not-so-good news lately about the economy, it could almost make you want to dress-up and pretend you're someone or something else. Or maybe just eating a lot of candy would help. Don't know if there's any link, but apparently people are buying up more Halloween costumes, candy, and other goodies than ever. The National Retail Federation estimates the average person will spend almost $65 on the holiday this year -- about 10 percent more than last year. It might sound batty, but total Halloween spending will be at more than $5 billion.
09/25/07 04:35 AM PT Posted on September 25, 2007 4:35 AM PTPearls fit for a queen
If you're looking for a nice holiday gift for a special woman in your life, how about pearls? How about Marie Antoinette's pearls? They can be yours, if you have about $800,000 to spend. That's how much the jewelry belonging to France's last queen is expected to fetch when it goes on sale in London this December. She gave a bag of pearls and diamonds to Lady Sutherland, the British ambassador's wife, a year before Antoinette's death. The pearls are now part of a necklace.
09/28/07 02:58 AM PT Posted on September 28, 2007 2:58 AM PTWhat's Radiohead worth to you?
Radiohead's known for creating innovative music. But this time, the band's drumming up buzz about what will be lacking when the album "In Rainbows" comes out on the 10th. There's no record label and there's no retail price. You'll only be able to buy "In Rainbows" as a digital download through the band's website. And when you start the on-line purchase process a question mark will pop up where you'd normally see a price. Instead, the words "it's up to you" will show up. Really: If you don't want to pay anything at all, "it's up to you."
10/01/07 04:27 AM PT Posted on October 1, 2007 4:27 AM PTNot letting Apple off easy
A lot of iPhone owners were pretty ticked off when Apple slashed the price of its super gadget by 200 bucks just two months after its debut. A woman in New York is so peeved about the whole thing she wants a million dollars in damages. She claims in a federal court lawsuit Apple violated price discrimination laws. But Apple not only cut the price on the eight-gigabyte iPhone, it also stopped selling the four-gigabyte model. That's the one the woman bought. She alleges owners of the four-gig phone were given less-favorable terms than those that bought the other one at the premium price.
10/02/07 03:47 AM PT Posted on October 2, 2007 3:47 AM PTVerizon: iCopy that
It's not an iPhone, but it's cheaper and it might fool some of your friends. The Voyager is Verizon's new phone. It sure looks a little like the iPhone. It's got the large touch sensitive screen, the camera, the media player. It's a little thicker though, but that's because it opens up to show a keyboard and a second screen. It can also shoot video and Verizon's wireless network is faster than ATT's. You've got a couple of months to decide before the holidays.
10/03/07 05:32 AM PT Posted on October 3, 2007 5:32 AM PTGive me a home where the buffalo . . . are snacks
If you need a mid-day snack, why not some bison and berries? Put them together and you've got the latest energy bar on the market -- the Tanka Bar. The jerky-like offering comes from an American Indian-owned company and is made with South Dakota bison and Wisconsin cranberries. One of the owners of the bar's manufacturer says the new product signals getting back to a healthy lifestyle with the help of the buffalo that had provided meat, utensils, and clothing for thousands of years. Bison and cranberry trail mix will also be available soon.
10/05/07 03:01 AM PT Posted on October 5, 2007 3:01 AM PTWii taking Sony's sales
It's pretty clear Sony is losing the battle against Nintendo's Wii. So, Sony's cutting the price of the Playstation 3 one more time. A $400 version goes on sale November 2. Is that something you might be interested in? Still, the Wii sells for $250. And the Xbox 360 goes for $300 to $400.
10/18/07 04:47 AM PT Posted on October 18, 2007 4:47 AM PTWhen a lullaby just won't work...
What's the worst product you can think of? How about . . . sleeping pills targeting children? A watchdog called Consumers International just came out its list of the worst behavior by corporations. They put Takeda Pharmaceuticals at the top. Takeda makes a sleeping pill called Rozerum. The company advertised the drug by reminding people it was back to school season.
Mattel also made the list for making toys with too much lead in them. And Coca-Cola also got slammed for the way it markets Dansani bottled water. It comes from the same reservoirs as tap water.
They should just ask for two months' salary...
A trademark suit against e-Bay is set to open today in New York. Jeweler Tiffany & Co sued e-Bay for letting counterfeit items be sold on its site. The center of the lawsuit questions who should be responsible for policing the site for fakes. If Tiffany wins the suit, it would force e-Bay to change the way luxury products are auctioned off. If e-Bay is the winner, no change.
11/13/07 03:54 AM PT Posted on November 13, 2007 3:54 AM PTClothing may not actually have seaweed
A popular yoga clothing retailer may be stretching the truth. Lululemon is a high-end shop with workout gear made of unusual materials like soybeans, bamboo and silver. But the New York Times reports today at least one of the funky ingredients may not be present. The Times commissioned a lab test on a fabric Lululemon says is made with seaweed. The mineral levels of the tested shirt were the same as a cotton t-shirt. Lululemon's been a Wall Street darling since it went public this summer.
11/14/07 04:38 AM PT Posted on November 14, 2007 4:38 AM PTJames Madison is cool
That's what the U.S. Mint wants you to think as it comes out today with its fourth presidential coin.
The Mint's director, Ed Moy, says he hopes the father of the Constitution is more popular than previous coins. The past two $1 coins are considered big flops -- that would be Sacagawea and Susan B Anthony. The new presidential designs are trying to tap into the success of the 50-state quarter program.
Come for the pie, stay for the savings!
The holiday shopping rush is just a week away, and some retailers are cooking up extra ways to entice customers. For the second year in a row, Comp USA will serve slices of pumpkin pie to those waiting in line before the store opens. Sam's Club will give shoppers a free continental breakfast, complete with a hot egg and sausage sandwich, yogurt, fruit, coffee and juice. The warehouse store expects to have enough food to last until 9 a.m.
11/16/07 05:06 AM PT Posted by David Banks on November 16, 2007 5:06 AM PTBreaking out the traditional Thanksgiving Tofurkey
Forget that Kosher organic free range bird you paid six bucks a pound for. The makers of an alternative turkey say business is up. Fourth quarter sales of Tofurky are up 36 percent over last year. That means around 227,000 homes in the U.S. will be sitting down to a flavored vegan tofu roast later today.
A better workout than shopping
And since you're probably going to pump in calories today, you might want to pump up tomorrow instead of shopping. Gold's Gym says anyone who wants to work out tomorrow can come to one of its 500 gyms around the country for free. That news comes from the desk of shamelessly opportunistic marketing ploys
11/22/07 07:00 AM PT Posted on November 22, 2007 7:00 AM PTLosing sleep over shopping? Then get started
Can't sleep? How about some early shopping? Wal-Mart Stores is opening at 5 a.m today.
J.C. Penney already opened at 4 a.m. Then again, you might be done already by now: CompUSA was opened at midnight.
The real money Monday
Cyber Monday -- ha! The first Monday after Thanksgiving's been dubbed the busiest online shopping day of the year, but many web retailers think that's just silly. Apparently it's the second week of December that's the cash cow. E-bay says that week is so lucrative they have their own moniker to kick it off: Green Monday. Business Week reports last year, Wednesday, December 13 was the day that brought in the most online dough: $667 million in sales.
11/27/07 03:42 AM PT Posted on November 27, 2007 3:42 AM PTGoogle attempting to go wireless
Today could be the day Google makes its plans clear about wanting a piece of the wireless pie.
The Wall Street Journal reports Google will announce today it'll apply to bid for wireless spectrum in next month's FCC auction. The FCC has a December 3 deadline for speaking up about wanting to bid. No comment from Google, but the company has previously said it would probably go for a chunk of the airwaves that can be used for mobile phone services and internet.
Fresh and Easy and closer than the U.K.
British retailer Tesco has big plans for the U.S. market. A few weeks ago, it opened its first 15 Fresh and Easy supermarkets in cities like LA. And now the chief executive of the chain says that by 2009, there will be 200 stores. His goal is for urban shoppers to never be more than a mile away from the nearest Fresh and Easy. Some critics, however, say that the sort-of-cold feeling of the stores and the self-service checkouts might be a problem for some shoppers.
12/03/07 02:49 AM PT Posted on December 3, 2007 2:49 AM PTRetail snailing through holiday
The holiday season is not a good time for retail sales to go soft. But they are. This morning, Target said it'll probably fall short of its sales forecast for December. And November wasn't so hot either.
A bunch of stores reported their November figures this morning and mostly, they were disappointing, even with a big Thanksgiving weekend -- 19 out of 26 retailers came up short. Among those that did fare OK: Wal-mart and Costco, Macy's and Nordstrom.
Non-believers marvel as Jesus flies off shelf
All 600 Wal-Mart have already run out of one of the hit toys for the holidays: Talking Jesus. Target doesn't have many left either, and there are no plans to restock before Christmas. The California company that makes the doll is called one2believe. They point out that many people doubted a 12-inch tall talking Jesus would sell. Peter, Paul, Mary, Noah and Moses sold separately.
Retail prepares for an exhausting season closer
Retail workers are going to be drinking a lot of coffee in this last week before Christmas.
The final stretch of the shopping season is going to have as many gimmicks as the start, including expanded hours. Macy's plans to pull all-nighters this weekend at several stores, including its flagship in Manhattan. Some K-Marts will go 24-hours like they did Thanksgiving weekend, and Toys "R" Us will be open until midnight every day until Christmas Eve. The latest shopping data released Sunday shows sales weren't too impressive this weekend thanks to the snow storm in the midwest and New England, and worries about the economy.
Every 17 seconds, Wii finds a home
Christmas has been amazing for Amazon. The company said the 2007 holiday season was its strongest ever. December 10 was Amazon's busiest day -- shoppers ordered almost 5.5 million items. One of the most wanted products was Nintendo's video game system, the Wii.
Amazon says it sold about 17 Wii's per second when they had them in stock.
Countries debating the taboo of mink
You might think that wearing a fur coat has a certain stigma, but fur traders don't know anything about that. The price of mink is near record levels. Strong demand from China and Russia are mainly responsible for this. But even in the U.K., the demand for fur has gone up at a very strong pace. Some furriers even claim that their success has to do with the fact that fur is a green commodity: It comes from a renewable resource, there is very little pollution involved in the production of it and it's biodegradable. Others don't think that the stigma is gone and are skeptical about the long-term success of fur.
12/31/07 04:01 AM PT Posted on December 31, 2007 4:01 AM PTYou want a mocha with those fries?
McDonald's is getting ready to add a new position and many new menu items to thousands of restaurants this year.The Wall Street Journal reports the company will install coffee bars, complete with "baristas," in almost 14,000 U.S. locations. The addition of cappuccinos, lattes, and other fancy beverages is expected to add a billion dollars to McDonald's annual sales. The golden arches already bring in nearly $22 billion a year.
01/07/08 05:44 AM PT Posted on January 7, 2008 5:44 AM PTMizrahi named creative director for Liz Claiborne
Isaac Mizrahi is done dressing things up at Target. The designer is leaving to help spice things up at Liz Claiborne. Mizrahi's Target collection has been really popular over his five-year run, selling as much as $300 million each year. His departure is more than a fashion emergency. It comes just as Target's CEO has announced he's stepping down and the company's dealing with a 5 percent drop in same-store sales last month. The retailer apparently tried hard to keep the cheap-chic designer but wasn't willing to match Claiborne's offer.
01/16/08 03:45 AM PT Posted on January 16, 2008 3:45 AM PT600 bottles of beer on the wall . . . for $400 each
Here's something you probably won't find at any Superbowl parties this weekend: a $400 bottle of Carlsberg beer. If you want to try the new Vintage Number One, your best bet is a visit to Denmark. The Danish brewer says only 600 bottles of the beer will be made. Most will be sold at three of Copenhagen's most exclusive restaurants. Even without the beer, the bottle is said to be worth about a $100. Each one has a hand-stenciled label by a well-known artist.
01/30/08 06:04 AM PT Posted on January 30, 2008 6:04 AM PTGetting back to the brew
Starbucks says it will soon be done with the smell of sausage, bacon and eggs. The company's taking its hot breakfast sandwiches off the menu this fall. CEO Howard Schultz says it's time to put the focus back on coffee as Starbucks focuses on ways to win back customers. And sandwiches aren't the only things getting eaten up by the company's plans. About 100 U.S. stores will close this year, but more will open up overseas.
01/31/08 05:48 AM PT Posted on January 31, 2008 5:48 AM PT