Jewelry

New York City - The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) announced that its Retail Design Collective will be held Dec. 8-10, at 7 W New York, 7 W. 34th St. and at other major showrooms throughout New York City.

Conference sessions focus on visual merchandising and store design trends, and will feature retailers such as Harry Cunningham of Saks Fifth Avenue, Brad Lenz of Liz Claiborne, Diana Bernal of Van Cleef  Arpels Inc., Paul Olszewski of Macy's, Tom Davidson of The Food Emporium, and Lauren Shaw of Louis Vuitton North America.

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. reported a 27% gain in third-quarter profit, topping analysts’ estimates, as sales rose globally. The jewelry retailer raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Net income rose to $55.1 million, from $43.3 million in the year-ago period, better than analysts had expected.

Dallas -- Zale Corp.’s first-quarter loss widened as a debt-related charge hit the bottom line but a slight drop in revenue was offset by higher margins. The jewelry retailer reported a loss of $97.9 million, up from $59.7 million a year earlier.

Sales fell 0.7% to $327 million, from $329 million. Same-store sales in the quarter ended Oct. 31 fell 1.1%.

Boston -- The Gymboree Corp. and Bain Capital Partners, on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the company by affiliates of Bain Capital for $65.40 per share in cash, or approximately $1.8 billion.

As of Oct. 30, Gymboree operated 1,049 retail stores: 636 Gymboree stores (595 in the United States; 37 in Canada, two in Australia, and two in Puerto Rico); 148 Gymboree Outlet stores; 122 Janie and Jack shops; and 143 Crazy  stores in the United States.

New York — Shoppers opened up their wallets in early November, providing retailers with some early holiday cheer. Spending on apparel, jewelry and luxury goods showed strong increases from the same time a year ago, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which includes transactions in all forms including cash.

Chicago -- Black Friday sales are expected to increase by 3.8% and Cyber Monday sales to grow by 2.5% this holiday season, according to BDO USA’s Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which polls chief marketing officers at 100 leading U.S. retailers. Black Friday and Cyber Monday expectations are more bullish this year compared with 2009 when both were expected to rise by 1.8%.

Seattle -- Nordstrom said its third-quarter profit rose a more-than-expected 43% to $119 million on improved sales and margin improvements. The company raised the low end of its fiscal year profit forecast.

Revenues rose to $2.18 billion from $1.96 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.8%.

Best-selling items were jewelry, shoes and dresses.

"Our customers are highly receptive to newness and fashion in spite of the soft economic climate," company president Blake Nordstrom said in a conference call with analysts.