Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Monday that net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 fell 8% to $15.9 million.

Revenue for the quarter dipped 2.2% to $273.1 million.

Investors were prepared for the news because the company previously reported the lower revenue figures earlier this month.
 

Amstersdam — Ahold experienced several bright spots during its fourth quarter and full year, the Dutch-based supermarket company said.

Fourth-quarter net sales totaled $9.4 billion, a 4.5% increase above the year-ago period, while net sales for the year increased by 2.5% to $39.1 billion.

QUINCY, Mass. — Stop & Shop has reintroduced its Guaranteed Value product line in an effort to help customers on a budget.

The line, which includes about 200 items, touts prices that are an average of 20% to 25% less than national brands. What's more, 60% of the items cost $2 or less. What's more, packaging for items that are part of Guaranteed Value have undergone a makeover, with the yellow, blue and red packaging being replaced with a bright orange and white design that highlights the value offered with each product.

NEW YORK — Retail industry sales are expected to rise, albeit not at the same pace as 2011, according to the National Retail Federation.

Retail industry sales will rise 3.4% to $2.53 trillion, NRF said, compared with a pace of 4.7% in the year-ago period. The expected slowdown in consumer spending, NRF said, will be influenced by a number of factors, including stalled unemployment rate and lack of newly-created jobs. But despite the lower projection, the industry is expected to garner stronger numbers than other industries, NRF said.

New York City -- A report released Monday by the National Retail Federation said that retail industry sales growth for 2012 is forecasted at 3.4%, a pace slower than 2011’s 4.7% growth.

Still, said NRF, the retail industry will grow at a rate faster than many other industries.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $400.6 billion.

The December figure is up 0.1% from November, and up 6.5% from December 2010.

Total sales for the October through December 2011 period were up 7.0% from the same period a year ago.

New York City -- Consumer confidence rose more than forecast in January, reaching its highest level in eight months amid signs of an improving labor market.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment increased to 74 from 69.9 at the end of December. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for 71.5. The measure has increased 9.9 points in the last two months, the biggest such gain since April-May 2009.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should be nearly flat during January compared with the same month last year, but significant year-over-year increases are expected this spring.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation reported Thursday that holiday sales edged NRF forecasts, rising 4.1% to $471.5 billion for the period.

NRF predicted 3.8% growth. Results exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.

Tokyo -- Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo apparel chain, reported Thursday a net profit of $405.3 million for the first quarter, a 37% rise that the company said was due in large part to a change in accounting methods. Operating profit dipped 2.8%.

Sales gained 8.6% overall for the quarter, but the company has trimmed its full-year outlook as sales in its home market remained sluggish.