Research Topic

WASHINGTON - The National Retail Federation announced that it has urged the Senate to support legislation extending Bush era tax cuts that is scheduled for a procedural vote today, saying the measure would help preserve and create jobs.

ABILENE, Kan. - Duckwall-ALCO Stores reported that net sales from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 decreased 0.6% to $110.5 million and same-store sales decreased 2.3%.

Net loss for the third quarter was $2 million, or 53 cents per diluted share, compared with net loss of $1.4 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

NEW YORK - Macy's announced that it was found to be the number one department store retailer in the United States, according to a survey of international visitors by Mandala Research.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Borders Group reported that sales for the third quarter were $470.9 million, which is a decrease of 17.6% from the same period a year ago. On a comparable-store sales basis, sales declined 12.6%, driven primarily by the adult trade category, according to the company. Sales were also negatively impacted by Borders.com, which saw a third quarter decrease of 8.6% over the prior year to $12.5 million.

New York City -- A survey released Friday by America’s Research Group found that after the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, just 17% of shoppers were paying with credit, representing about half of last year’s level and the lowest rate in the 27 years that the firm has conducted the survey.

“The consumer really feels a lot of pressure from previous debts, and they just aren’t going to dig themselves into that kind of hole,” said Britt Beemer, CEO, of America’s Research Group.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos announced the December release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index, analyzing the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector.

The December report, which includes data for November 2010, showed that the Index increased significantly to 3.8%, a 28% increase over last month’s figure of 3.0%.  (A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred.)

New York City -- After five consecutive months of year-over-year declines, overall average tickets grew 0.4% in November, after declining 1.7% in October, according to  First Data. The company’s SpendTrend analysis for November 2010 includes same-store consumer spending via credit, signature debit, PIN debit and EBT cards at U.S. merchant locations, which are compared with November 2009.

NEW YORK Switching to private-label brands could help consumers save one-third of their typical spend on products, a new study conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers of America found.