Budgets/Spending/Market Size

El Segundo, Calif. -- Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.’s first-quarter net income fell 54% and missed analysts' expectations because of increased expenses as customer traffic declined.

The company also gave a second-quarter earnings outlook much lower than Wall Street's view.

Big 5 reported late Tuesday that it earned $2.8 million for the period ended April 3, down from $5 million a year ago.

New York City -- Dunkin’ Brands Group, which operates the Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins chains, filed to sell at least $400 million of stock in an initial public offering.

The Canton, Mass.-based company plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and for working capital and general corporate purposes, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dunkin' Brands was taken private in 2005 by a trio of private-equity firms for $2.4 billion in cash.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores said that by the end of the year it will have invested the equivalent of approximately $756 million to expand its operations in Brazil.

Marcos Samaha, president of Wal-Mart's Brazilian subsidiary, said in a Tuesday statement that 1.2 billion reals ($755 million) will be used to build 80 stores, renovate existing locations and improve logistics.

New York City -- Americans are placing an even greater premium on quality customer service this year, with 70% willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service, according to the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer. This is up from 2010, when 58% said they would spend an average of 9% more for great service.

New York City -- Chain Store Age will present a Webinar – “Facilities Dollars and Sense: Unlocking Substantial Maintenance and Repair Savings by Controlling All Components of Cost” -- on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, at 2 p.m (EST).

The presentation, sponsored by First Service Networks, will discuss a new way of thinking that systematically analyzes, controls and manages each individual component of cost to deliver substantial savings on multi-site maintenance and repair spend.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Strong earnings and sales growth in the first quarter helped drive up Publix's stock price.

Publix’s sales for the first quarter of 2011 were $6.8 billion, a 4.4% increase from last year’s $6.5 billion. Comparable-store sales for the first quarter of 2011 increased 2.8%.

Net earnings for the first quarter of 2011 were $398.2 million, compared with $364.4 million in 2010, an increase of 9.3%. Earnings per share for the first quarter increased to 51 cents for 2011, up from 47 cents per share in 2010.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Supermarkets said Monday that sales and earnings rose in the first quarter. Net earnings rose 9.3% to $398.2 million, compared with $364.4 million in 2010.

Sales for the first quarter totaled $6.8 billion, and same-store sales rose 2.8%.

“Although the economy continues to be weak, I’m pleased our strong operating performance resulted in another increase in our stock price,” said Ed Crenshaw, Publix’s CEO, said in a statement.

Mother’s Day may be considered a “Hallmark Holiday,” but that won’t stop consumers from showering mom with gifts on May 8. According to NRF’s 2011 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average person celebrating the holiday is expected to spend $140.73 on gifts, up from $126.90 last year, and a return to 2008 spending levels. Total spending is expected to reach $16.3 billion.

New York City -- Newegg and QVC took top honors in the retail category in Compuware Gomez’s Best of the Web 2010 Awards, which honor the strongest web performers across various industries. The retail winners were determined based on the annual cumulative response time, availability and consistency of their web and mobile sites, as well as multi-step business process transactions

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela's said Thursday that stronger revenue helped its fiscal first-quarter profit more than double from results weighed down by a hefty charge a year ago.

The reported net income of $17.8 million in the three months ended April 2, up from $8.1 million a year earlier.

The year-ago period included an $11.9 million charge related to a 2009 FDIC compliance examination.

Revenue increased 5% to $586.7 million, from $559.6 million. Same-store sales rose 8.9%.