Events

IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti will honor sponsor Target's 50th anniversary by using the using the number 50 on the car he will use at the Indianapolis 500. The car will feature a paint scheme that uses the Target bullseye in place of the zero. Franchitti regularly uses the No. 10 car. Read more.

 

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported a better-than-expected 1.2% increase in first-quarter profit as warm weather and an early Easter helped drive sales. The chain also raised its earnings forecast for the full year.

Target’s net earnings for the quarter ended April 28 were $697 million, compared with $689 million in the year-ago period.

“We’re very pleased with our first-quarter earnings, which benefited from better-than-expected sales,” Gregg Steinhafel, Target’s CEO, said in a statement.

LONDON — In honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, Asda's George division has created an exclusive, limited edition Big Jubilee Lunch t-shirt for women.

This might not come as a huge surprise, but “irrational exuberance” is unlikely to be on prominent display. What have, in the past, been lavish spending habits of RECon attendees have been diminished in recent years, and I think the 2012 event will be no exception.

New York -- Dylan's Candy Bar will open its first West Coast location in Los Angeles, this summer. The 2,500-sq.-ft. store will be located in a historic landmark: the Original Farmers Market on the corner of Third and Fairfax.

“We opened our first store 10 years ago in NYC fulfilling a childhood dream of mine to create the largest, most magical candy store,” said Dylan Lauren, founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar. “Now I'm thrilled to bring my love of color, design and the joy of candy from coast to coast!”

Atlanta -- Home Depot reported Tuesday that profit for the first quarter rose a healthy 27.5% to $1.04 billion, aided by warmer weather during the period.

Sales rose 6% to $17.81 billion from $16.8 billion, missing analysts’ forecasted $17.89 billion in revenue. The company boosted its 2012 outlook based on year-to-date performance. Same-store sales increased 5.8% in the quarter, with a strong 6.1% gain in the United States.
 

London -- The British department store Selfridges received the “Best Department Store in the World” award at the Global Department Store Summit in Paris.

Selfridges took the top slot amongst finalists from around the globe, including Macy's and Woolworths (South Africa). The U.K. retailer also won the award, which is given out every two years, in 2010.

Washington, D.C. -- A Tuesday report by the Commerce Department showed that U.S. retail sales during the month of April edged up 0.1%, following a 0.7% gain in March and marking the smallest rise of the year so far. The gain was in line with projections.

Excluding auto sales, retail sales climbed 0.1% in April.