Retailers Retsock Inventories as Economy Improves

Companies from Tiffany & Co. to Home Depot Inc. are restocking shelves in a move that will boost economic growth and may keep the recovery on track through 2010. Tiffany, based in New York, is planning for a “high single-digit percentage increase” in inventories this year as the world’s second-largest luxury jeweler retailer opens new stores, Chief Financial Officer James Fernandez told analysts March 22. Home Depot, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, “will be building inventory” this year in support of stronger sales, Carol Tome, chief financial officer of the Atlanta-based company, said on a Feb. 23 analysts call.