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Amid declining sales, rising commodity costs and a U.S. grand jury investigation into whether ex-employees in China paid bribes to officials in violation of U.S. anti-corruption laws, cosmetics giant Avon Products' CEO Andrea Jung said the company doesn't expect its margins to improve this year.

Online payment service company PayPal is testing a new mobile shopping initiative that allows consumers to point and purchase using QR codes. PayPal has created catalog "mobile shopping walls" in 15 metro stations in Singapore. The large displays feature Valentine’s Day offers from eight participating retailers. The user will need to first download the PayPal QR code reader app, which scans the barcodes and allows the user to log into PayPal to purchase the items.

The Container Store, the storage and organization products retailer, today honors its 5,000 employees across the country by celebrating its third annual "National We Love Our Employees Day." Company executives unveiled a 58,800 square foot "love note" on the roof of its company headquarters that it's submitting for review to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Apple's retail stores continued their enviable performance in Q1 of fiscal 2012. The stores' total revenue of $6.1 billion was 59% higher than the same period the previous year, and average revenue per store increased from $12 million to $17.1 million, a 43% increase. Apple opened four new stores during the quarter, one in New York's Grand Central Terminal and three in Europe, for a total of 361 locations; the averages are based on a 358-store total. In addition, the retailer has simplified in-store transactions with its EasyPay mobile app and added a buy online/pick up in store offering.

Romance is alive and well this Valentine’s Day, but with a modern twist. Alliance Data, a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions and private label credit card programs for specialty retailers, recently conducted a Valentine’s Day survey to gauge consumers’ shopping behaviors and opinions related to purchasing and receiving gifts this year. In a surprising break from traditional gift-giving, approximately 10 percent of respondents said they intend to buy their own gifts this year, while traditionalists said candy tops their wish list.

Lord & Taylor is deploying handheld RFID readers in its stores to maintain accurate inventory levels and prevent out-of-stock situations. RFID technology allows retailers to rapidly determine how much tagged inventory is in a particular location at a given time.

The Commerce Department says retail sales rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month. That's better than December's downwardly revised flat reading. And when excluding autos and gasoline station sales, retail spending jumped 0.6 percent, the best showing in three months.

Saks will expand its distribution and fulfillment capacity, adding a new facility in Tennessee this year. The new center will occupy approximately 564,000 square feet of leased space and will be located in LaVergne, Tenn. It will be equipped with a sophisticated mobile-robotic fulfillment system that's been successfully deployed in Saks’ Maryland facility. Saks expects the Tennessee facility to be operational by August.

* Q3 EPS $0.20 vs $0.16 last yr * Q3 revenue up 68 pct at $373.6 mln * Sees Q4 EPS $0.10-$0.12 * Sees Q4 revenue $350-$355 mln Feb 14 (Reuters) - Luxury lifestyle company Michael Kors Holdings Ltd reported a higher quarterly profit, helped by strong demand for its namesake luxury brand. The company -- which sells fashion accessories, footwear and apparel -- reported a third-quarter profit of $39 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $27.8 million, or 16 cents a share, a year ago. Michael Kors, which made a strong market debut in December, said

FAO Schwarz founder Frederick August Otto Schwarz has been inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame by the Toy Industry Association.