Finance & Capital Management

New York -- Bloomingdale’s longtime chief executive and chairman, Michael Gould, 70, is stepping down after 22 years on the job. He will be succeeded by Tony Spring, 48, currently Bloomingdale’s president and COO, effective Feb. 1, 2014. A successor to Spring as president of Bloomingdale’s is expected to be named in 2014.

Retail sales fell in September for the first time in six months, but the decline was credited to a drop-off in auto purchases. Most U.S. retail sectors actually experienced broad sales gains during the month, according to the National Retail Federation, which reported that, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, retail sales grew a seasonally 0.6% compared to the previous month and 3.8% unadjusted compared to the prior year.

Results of specific sectors include:

Joseph Coradino stepped up to the post of CEO at Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust in June of 2012. At the time, he had been with PREIT and a predecessor company for three decades. Since 2004, he had served as president of PREIT Services and PREIT-RUBIN. He had been a Trustee since 2006.

By James McCandless and Kenneth Katz,  X Team International

The recent government shutdown has analysts scrambling to determine how much damage was done to the national economy. From a retail perspective, understanding the scale and scope of the shutdown requires a more thorough understanding of the issues at play; including a closer look at how retailers responded and a breakdown of how the lingering effects of the partial government closure may impact the holiday sales season.

The ripple effect on retail

Nestlé plans to relocate its pizza business from Northbrook, Ill., to Solon, Ohio. Nestlé Pizza operates the Digiorno, California Pizza Kitchen, Tombstone and Jack's brands. The company anticipates completing the move by mid-2014.

The Nestlé Pizza Division brands were acquired from Kraft Foods in 2010 for $3.7 billion. The acquisition allowed the company to expand its frozen prepared foods category.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company on Wednesday reported a better-then-expected 34% rise in its fiscal fourth-quarter and raised its quarterly dividend 24%. The company earned $481.1 million, up from $359 million a year ago.

Total net revenues increased 13% to $3.8 billion, just short of expectations.

Global same-store sales increased 7%, driven by a 5% increase in traffic. Same-store sales were up 8% in the United States and the Americas and 8% in China/Asia Pacific region.

The Jones Group had better-than-expected third-quarter results for fiscal 2013, as net income soared 67% to $28.3 million from $17.8 million. However, revenues in the quarter ended Oct. 5 fell about 1%, to $1.02 billion from $1.03 billion.

Washington, D.C. – Retail sales fell in September for the first time in six months, but the decline was credited to a drop-off in auto purchases. Most U.S. retail sectors experienced broad sales gains during the month, according to the National Retail, which reported that,  excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, retail sales grew a seasonally 0.6% compared to the previous month and 3.8% unadjusted compared to the prior year.

Results of specific sectors include: