Nov. 1, 2010 at 3:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Retail
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
Wal-Mart shoppers wait in line on Dec. 21, 2009, at one of the retailer's stores in Ocoee, Fla., for Zhu Zhu toys. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
After last Christmas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. turned to its customers to find out how it could improve toy shopping this holiday season.
Moms told the nation’s largest retailer not to push Christmas toys until after Halloween passed and to give them more, not just $10 specials.
That was a price Wal-Mart promoted early and big in 2008 and 2009 in toys, books and DVDs, starting price wars in early October the last two years. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 2:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail,
Updated
By Sandra M. Jones
Online retail sales rose a solid 9 percent in the third quarter, a healthy sign for Web merchants as they enter the holiday season.
Online retail spending rose 9 percent to $32.1 billion for the three months ended in September, compared to the same period a year ago, according to a comScore Inc. report released Monday. It is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, after a year of flat or declining sales, said the Chicago-based digital research firm. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 8:07 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
As eBay Inc. prepares for a critical holiday shopping season, the company this week plans to unveil new elements of an overhaul in how shoppers find and buy products on its Web site.
Behind the new look, which includes eBay’s first major home-page redesign in nearly four years, is an urgent effort to close a technology gap that has caused the onetime Web pioneer to lag behind rivals like Amazon.com Inc. Amazon for years has had many of the same features that eBay is adding. Get the full story »
Oct. 29, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
Retail
By Associated Press
Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. appears to have bowed to shareholder pressure and is changing its shareholder rights plan to limit further stakes by Chairman Leonard Riggio and his family, the company said Wednesday.
Oct. 29, 2010 at 12:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones
A Loehmann's store on State Street in Chicago. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
Loehmann’s said it is exploring a pre-negotiated bankruptcy reorganization, among other options, after defaulting on a loan.
The off-price women’s clothing retailer failed to consummate an exchange of a series of old notes for a series of new notes, the retailer said in a press release Friday. The company received valid tenders representing 92.4 percent of the outstanding principal amount of the old notes, less than the 97 percent required.
As a result, Loehmann’s missed an October interest payment, resulting in default on its revolving credit agreement with Crystal Financial LLC. Get the full story »
Oct. 29, 2010 at 9:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Commercial real estate,
Real estate,
Retail
Crain’s Chicago Business | A Nebraska discount retailer is set to enter the Chicago area next year. Gordsmans Stores will be taking a 47,500 square-foot space in Algonquin Commons, according to mall owner Inland Real Estate.
Oct. 29, 2010 at 6:39 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Earnings,
Management,
Retail
By Reuters
General Growth Properties, the U.S. mall owner expected to emerge from bankruptcy in early November, reported negative third-quarter funds from operations, taking a hit from reorganization expenses.
Funds from operations for its core mall properties were losses of $29.3 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a positive $88.9 million, or 28 cents a share a year earlier. Get the full story »
Oct. 28, 2010 at 12:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
Retail
By Associated Press
Infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said Thursday its third-quarter net income climbed 9 percent compared with the same quarter last year, when retailer inventory reductions dampened its sales.
The Glenview, Ill., company earned $106.1 million, or 52 cents per share, in the three months that ended Sept. 30, up from $97.6 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings were 57 cents per share.
Oct. 28, 2010 at 9:32 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail,
Updated
Shoppers at a Target in Falls Church, Va., May 28, 2010. (Reuters)
By Gregory Karp | Target Corp., the mass merchandiser with about 1,750 stores nationwide, for months has been shortchanging its customers who use certain manufacturers’ coupons by crediting them for a fraction of their face value.
Target is calling it a computer glitch. Avid coupon users are calling it an outrage. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
EBay Inc.’s online payments unit PayPal on Tuesday unveiled new software that will let people to use their phones to make payments, as well as a new platform that will make it easier for consumers to pay for digital media, music and games. Get the full story »
Oct. 26, 2010 at 11:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail,
Taxes
By Associated Press
A federal judge says constitutional free-speech rights protect Amazon.com customers from North Carolina tax collectors who wanted to learn what they bought from the online retailer.
Oct. 25, 2010 at 5:08 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Pharmaceuticals,
Retail
By Dow Jones Newswires
Drug store chain Walgreen has hired Bank of America to help auction its pharmacy benefits management business, Bloomberg reports, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 3:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Food,
Retail
By Becky Yerak
The flagship State Street store of Chicago-based Berry Chill LLC, a frozen yogurt purveyor that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, is closed.
A sign on the door at 635 N. State St. said the location is “temporarily closed due to emergency repairs,” though postings on its Facebook page and Twitter stream said it’s in a “legal battle” with its landlord. Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 1:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail
By Reuters
EBay Inc. said Monday that it has begun listing Groupon.com’s daily deals and allowing its members to collect and redeem points from purchases they make, in a move that will increase eBay’s presence in the fast growing group buying segment. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 2:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Crime,
Criminal charges,
Retail
By Brian Cox, Special to the Tribune | The lawyer for a Walgreen Co. executive charged with DUI for the second time in 13 months said today he’s sure his client will be cleared. Get the full story »
