Retail Stores

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, the average person is expected to spend $140.73 on gifts, up from $126.90 last year.

Department store giant Bloomingdale's announced it will open three outlet stores this fall. The stores will be located at the Miromar Outlets in Estero, Fla.; Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham, Mass.; and Woodfield Village Green in Schaumburg, Ill.

Lumber Liquidators announced that profits fell 17 percent in the first quarter, though sales at its hardwood flooring stores rose 5.6 percent. Net income for the first quarter, ended March 31, dropped to $5.78 million from $6.97 million for the same period in 2010.

Coach's third-quarter net income increased 18 percent amid higher demand in North America, which helped offset an estimated $20 million hit to its revenue from Japan's tsunami and earthquake. Same-store sales in North America rose 10.

Apple Store sales boomed in the second quarter of 2011, marking the highest second-quarter revenue and earnings in Apple's history, the company reported in a recent earnings call with financial analysts.

The building binge of warehouses and data centers sacrificed Amazon’s short-term profits to lift business over the long term, the company said when it released its first-quarter earnings statement.

From Prince William champagne to Kiss Me Kate beer, from refrigerators to PEZ dispensers, from comic books to condoms, enterprising marketers are plastering the young couple's image and name on every conceivable type of merchandise.

In one store you’re a size four, in another a size eight and in another a size 10 — all without gaining an ounce. It’s a familiar problem for many women, as standard sizing has never been very standard, ever since custom clothing gave way to ready-to-wear.

George Malkemus and Tony Yurgaitis, the top two executives of the Manolo Blahnik luxury shoe brand, sat around a table and admired their newest collection. But they weren't talking about Blahnik's stiletto designs for spring. They were gushing over skim milk.

RadioShack's first-quarter earnings dropped 30 percent and the struggling consumer-electronics retailer slashed the top end of its full-year outlook amid higher costs and lower margins.