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Finance & Capital Management

  • Retail sales slip by 0.4% in March

    NEW YORK — U.S. retail sales fell 0.4% in March, the biggest decrease in nine months, amid a slowdown in hiring and higher taxes. Excluding sales of autos, gas and building materials, core sales dropped 0.2% in March, following a 0.3% increase in January.

  • Costco comps up in March

    ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corporation  reported net sales of $9.67 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 7, 2013, an increase of 7% from $9.07 billion during the similar period last year.

    For the thirty-one weeks ended April 7, 2013, the company reported net sales of $61.02 billion, an increase of 8% from $56.34 billion during the similar period last year.

    Total comparable-store sales for the month, excluding fuel were up 6%. For the thirty-one week period, they were up 5%.

     

     

  • The J.C. Penney Debacle: Five Lessons Learned

    By Ellis Verdi, president of the NYC advertising agency DeVito/Verdi

    Here are the five lessons I learned from the J.C. Penney debacle — unfortunately we knew all of this before Ron took his ideas to market.

  • Cold weather and early Easter hamper March sales

    New York -- L.Brands, parent of Victoria's Secret, reported better-than-expected 3% sales in same-store sales for March. Zumiez Inc. and Buckle Inc. also both reported better-than-expected numbers.

    But other retailers were hampered by a colder-than-normal March, which caused many shoppers to put off buying warmer-weather clothing, and an early Easter. At The TJX Companies, same-store sales fell 2% in March, a bigger drop than was expected.

  • Cold weather puts chill on March sales

    NEW YORK — L.Brands, parent of Victoria's Secret, reported better-than-expected 3% sales in same-store sales for March. Zumiez Inc. and Buckle Inc. also both reported better-than-expected numbers.

    But other retailers were hampered by a colder-than-normal March, which caused many shoppers to put off buying warmer-weather clothing, and an early Easter. At The TJX Companies, same-store sales fell 2% in March, a bigger drop than was expected.

  • Rite Aid reports first annual profit since 2007

    Camp Hill, Pa. — Rite Aid  reported a $123.1 million profit for the fourth quarter and a $118.1 million profit for the fiscal year, compared with respective losses of $161.3 million and $368.6 million during the same period last year. It was the drugstore chain's second-straight quarterly profit and first annual gain in six years, amid  increases in prescription count  and front-end end sales.

  • Obama looks to raise taxes on cigarettes

    WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has proposed increasing federal taxes on cigarettes, drawing criticism from tobacco companies and praise from anti-smoking groups.

    As part of his proposed budget, Obama proposed raising the tax on cigarettes by 94 cents per pack, with similar increases on other tobacco products. The current tax is $1.01 per pack.

  • Destination Maternity maintains profit outlook despite sales slip

    PHILADELPHIA — Destination Maternity its total sales for the second quarter fell 2.1% to $134.9 million from $137.8 million. The company attributed the drop to the closure of all of its remaining leased departments within Babies “R” Us stores in October, along with the closures of underperforming stores.

    Despite the sales drop, Destination Maternity said it now expects its second-quarter profit to fall in the top half of its previously projected range of 38 cents to 44 cents per share, crediting tight management of its expenses.

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