The nation's retailers, anticipating what forecasters believe will be a lackluster holiday shopping season, are launching big sales promotions earlier than ever before. But how accurate are forecasters' predictions? A lot is riding on the accuracy of the predictions economists make about how much merchandise shoppers will scoop up between Thanksgiving and December 31: holiday…
Retail sales in the U.S. climbed for a second straight month, a sign consumers may be looking past recent volatility in financial markets. The 0.2 percent increase in August followed a 0.7 percent gain in July that was larger than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg…
A 116-year-old name in retail and one of the oldest continuously operating western wear brands is going away this fall. Sheplers stores are being rebranded as Boot Barn, and the changeover is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving, said Boot Barn Vice President Jayme Maxwell. Irvine, Calif.-based Boot Barn purchased Wichita, Kansas-based Sheplers in June for $147…
Best Buy is opening its own mini-shops at Macy’s, where it will primarily sell Samsung merchandise. In the past few years, Best Buy has turned a lot of its sales space into mini-shops to show off marquee brands. Now the Richfield, Minn.-based electronics retailer is becoming a mini-shop for someone else. In early November, Best Buy will…
After years of struggling to maintain sales, Barnes & Noble may be looking to revamp its image, starting with smaller stores. The Wall Street Journal reports the nation’s largest bookstore chain is considering a new store prototype after facing a fifth straight quarter of sales declines. New CEO Ronald Boire says any changes would be in response…
Macy's will close 35 to 40 underperforming stores, around 5 percent of its total locations, the department store chain announced Tuesday. The stores, slated to be shuttered in early 2016, will be identified at a later date, said the company with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York. Annual sales volume at the stores, "net of sales…
Haggen says it's filed for protection from creditors while it tightens its business into a smaller, profitable footprint, signaling a surprisingly early demise for its unlikely bid to become a West Coast grocery superpower. The Bellingham, Wash.-based grocer on Tuesday filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition with a U.S. court in Delaware. Haggen says its creditors…
Gap had another month of disappointing sales. This time it blamed this year's late Labor Day holiday. The big holiday weekend will count toward September's results rather than August, as it has the past three years. Without benefit of Labor Day, Gap reported an overall 3 percent drop in August sales from the prior year, with…
The decision to stop tobacco sales at all of its drugstores a year ago caused people to buy 1% fewer packs of cigarettes in 13 states, CVS Health says in a new study out Thursday. The new study compared total sales of tobacco products at all types of stores in the 13 states where CVS…
Wal-Mart said it would reopen in late October to early November five U.S. stores whose closure had prompted a union to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the retailer was retaliating against workers for organizing. Wal-Mart will start hiring for the stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and California, and will encourage previous…
