retail

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Weak Wal-Mart Profits Turn Smiles Upside-Down

Stock dips in early trading on anemic report

(Newser) - Wal-Mart stock saw its biggest dip in five years in early trading this morning, after Q2 profits rose less than analysts had expected. The Arkansas-based behemoth says full-year profit will total $3.13 a share, 3 cents lighter than its projections: Bloomberg reports that surging gas prices, faltering home sales...

Will That Be Credit, Debit, or Cellphone?

Next-gen tech gives cash-free shoppers more options

(Newser) - Shoppers in the not-too-distant future may have a new option when they get to the checkout line: their cell phones. Many retailers are warming up to the idea of consumers using "contactless" payment methods—cellphones or cards with a built-in wireless chips that can process transactions with a simple...

Wal-Mart Sets Sights on India
Wal-Mart Sets Sights on India

Wal-Mart Sets Sights on India

Retail behemoth teams up with local biz, hoping to get piece of $300B market

(Newser) - Wal-Mart will set up shop in the lucrative Indian market for the first time, the Times of London reports. In collaboration with Indian mobile phone company Bharti, the American retail giant will sell wholesale goods to small shops, restaurants, and other businesses. The first "Bharti Wal-Mart" stores are expected...

Grocery Chain Offers Free Rx Meds
Grocery Chain Offers Free
Rx Meds

Grocery Chain Offers Free Rx Meds

Publix pharmacies will dispense 7 antibiotics at no cost

(Newser) - Pharmacies in Publix supermarkets across five Southern states will distribute seven antibiotics free to patients with prescriptions, the chain said today. The CEO allows that one goal is to drive customer traffic, but it's also an example of the private sector assisting access to affordable health care, the AP reports....

Bain Buys Out Guitar Center
Bain Buys Out Guitar Center

Bain Buys Out Guitar Center

Firm strums out $1.9B deal to take retailer private

(Newser) - Bain Capital sealed a deal today to buy out Guitar Center, a California-based retail chain specializing in musical instruments, for $1.9 billion. The deal was reached after a secret auction conducted by Goldman Sachs; the private equity firm has recently purchased a slew of publicly traded retailers. The final...

Dow Closes Down 80.86 on Inflation Scare

Bernanke comment, retail profit warnings contribute to slump

(Newser) - The Dow fell 80.86 points today, closing at 13,595.46 after companies in the retail sector issued warnings of reduced profits and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke commented that inflation risks are still high. "There are a lot of little things out there that are scaring the market,...

UK Moves to Measure Products' Eco-Impact

Labels will allow consumers to compare

(Newser) - Calories, fat, sodium ... carbon footprint? The new measurement may soon appear on British product packaging. Under a plan proposed yesterday, the government will develop standards to measure a product's environmental impact from manufacture through shipment and disposal, allowing companies to list the information as they do nutrition facts. Consumers can...

Wal-Mart, You're Getting a Dell
Wal-Mart, You're Getting a Dell

Wal-Mart, You're Getting a Dell

Direct-to-consumer giant will get in-store presence at big-box superstar

(Newser) - Dell is about to expand beyond its traditional direct-to-consumer sales channels in a big way: by making a deal with Wal-Mart. The struggling computer maker and the world's largest retailer announced today that Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores will start carrying Dell Dimensions next month. The two exclusive models will...

Small Labels Are the New Fashion Stars

Trendy, casual designers are edging out the stalwarts

(Newser) - Women of all ages are springing for trendier clothes from newer labels, and the fashion industry is scrambling to keep up, the Wall Street Journal reports. The fastest growing segment of the industry is small risk-taking labels that have elevated casual pieces like jeans, t-shirts and  cotton dresses to edgy...

Wal-Mart Posts Record Sales Decline
Wal-Mart Posts Record Sales Decline

Wal-Mart Posts Record Sales Decline

Drop in business at megachain worst in 28 years

(Newser) - Wal-Mart reported a 3.5% decline in sales this April, the wost monthly result the retailer has announced in nearly three decades of announcing. The figures, for stores open at least a year, reflect an early Easter, bad weather, and a rejiggered sales calendar that gave Wal-Mart positive numbers in...

JCPenney Dominates Online
JCPenney Dominates Online

JCPenney Dominates Online

(Newser) - The identity of one of the web's largest and most successful retailers may come as a surprise. It's JCPenney, Business Week reports, and it attracted 926,000 paying customers to its website in the first quarter—a number that ranks the 105-year-old company with web giants like eBay, Amazon, and...

Small Towns to Chain Stores: Let Us Shop!

Little places lure big retailers at annual shopping convention

(Newser) - Small towns and exurbs are bending over backwards to woo national retail chains, Governing magazine reports from the International Council of Shopping Centers' convention. Phalanxes of city reps descend on the dizzingly massive—and cutthroat—annual spring conference in Vegas, attempting to raise their profile and land a Pottery Barn...

Wal-Mart Drops Out of Bank Biz
Wal-Mart Drops Out of Bank Biz

Wal-Mart Drops Out of Bank Biz

(Newser) -  Wal-Mart has withdrawn its controversial application for a bank charter, ending a potential foray into the retail bank market. The big-box retailer’s plans to set up its own bank had drawn fire from banking and consumer groups, who feared it would stifle competition. The company, for its part,...

Apple: America's Best Retailer
Apple:  America's Best Retailer

Apple: America's Best Retailer

Steve Jobs Motto: "Ambush the Customer"

(Newser) - Jerry Useem summarizes Apple’s unlikely rise as a retailer for Fortune. With sales at its New York store running a staggering $4,000 per square foot (50% higher than Tiffany’s), Apple is the best retailer in America. 

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