Research Topic

New York -- For the second year in a row, Nordstrom topped the list of retail companies that keep their employees happiest, followed by Macy’s and OfficeMax, according to an annual survey by CareerBliss. The ranking takes into account employee reviews of their employer based on work-life balance, senior management compensation, benefits and job security.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — The LeapPad2 has received 20 awards from U.S. organizations that include Dr. Toy, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Parents' Choice Foundation and Time to Play, as well as key awards in the U.K. and Canada, according to LeapFrog Enterprises. It has been selected as a top toy by more children, parenting and industry experts and retailers than any other kid’s tablet, rendering it the most recognized kid's tablet of the year leading into the holiday season.

Whatever your political views may be, it’s hard not to think about the impact of the recent presidential election on the consumer psyche, and ultimately our industry. Whether President Obama or Mitt Romney would have been better for the economy in the long run is an issue I’ll gladly leave to the political experts and historians. But I do think that, in the near term, we are less likely to see the big holiday spending numbers that some analysts were predicting.

New York -- The National Labor Relations Board Federal was not expected to decide before Thursday on whether to seek an injunction on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to stop a union-backed group from encouraging employee walk-outs that are expected to culminate Friday and include protests and rallies outside its stores.

Dallas -- Zale Corp. reported a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss on Tuesday, but said it is on track to turn a profit again.

The jewelry retailer lost $28.3 million for the quarter that ended Oct. 31, compared to a year-ago loss of $31.9 million.

Revenue rose 1.8% to $357.5 million. Same store sales rose 3.9%. It was the chain’s eighth consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales.

Purchase, N.Y. -- Spending in most of the key holiday categories, for the first two weeks of the retail month of November was down on a year-over-year basis, according to a SpendingPulse report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard. Apparel and luxury (excluding jewelry) were particularly hard hit, both showing year-over-year declines in the high 7% range.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- LLBean.com ranks highest among online apparel retailers with a score of 830 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed by LandsEnd.com (829) and Forever21.com (824), according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Online Apparel Retailer Satisfaction Report. The study finds that satisfaction with online apparel retailers is significantly lower among online shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 than among those 55 years of age and older.

Memphis, Tenn. -- Fred's on Tuesday said third-quarter net income dropped 27% amid rising costs and declining same-store sales, as sales in its established stores dropped and its costs rose.

The company reported Tuesday that it earned $6.6 million in the three months through Oct. 27, compared with $9 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 1% to $450.6 million. Same-store sales were down 2.5%.

General expenses rose 4% to $118.1 million, fueled in party by higher labor costs and new store opening costs.