Apparel

DALLAS — The Army & Air Force Exchange Service announced that it is offering several Black Friday deals for military members and their families.

Among the deals being offered are Sony 55" LCD TVs for just $899, HP Pavilion G6 Notebooks for $279, 50% off regularly priced ladies apparel from Izod, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and others as well as an Xbox 360 4GB gaming systems with built-in Wi-Fi console for just $99. Additionally, all Coach handbags (both in-store and online at shopmyexchange.com) will be 25%off from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands, parent to Victoria's Secret, Pink, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel, said Thursday it will buy back up to $250 million of its shares.

The new share repurchase program follows the completion of a $500 million share repurchase program. So far this year, Limited has repurchased $1.1 billion worth of its stock.
 

New York City -- Consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters. However, while the October results were not as promising as some retailers had hoped, sales for the most part rose and most chains reported results that were only slightly off from analysts’ estimates. Some analysts blamed Wall Street for underestimating how much caution is still out there.

Purchase, N.Y. -- October’s unusual weather patterns — an unseasonably warm first half of the month and a snow storm on the last Saturday of the month — may have pushed some spending into November, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and service sales across all payment forms including cash and check.

NEW YORK — Consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters. However, while the October results were not as promising as some retailers had hoped, sales for the most part rose and most chains reported results that were only slightly off from analysts’ estimates. Some analysts blamed Wall Street for underestimating how much caution is still out there.

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 9% increase in same-store sales in October, helped by strong performances in the United States and abroad, just short of the 9.2% increase predicted by analysts.

Costco’s same-store U.S. sales rose 9% and were up 8% overseas. Taking out inflation in gas prices and a slightly negative impact from foreign currencies, the metric increased 6% in the United State and 9% internationally.

New York City -- Macy’s said Thursday that it will a full-line Bloomingdale’s in Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., in fall 2013.

The 120,000-sq.-ft., two-level store will headline an upscale redevelopment of the center being planned by its owner, General Growth Properties. The top two floors of the former Mervyn’s location will be entirely remodeled by Bloomingdale’s, with construction expected to begin in 2012.

NEW YORK — While consumers remain concerned about the economy, it is not enough to damper their holiday shopping spirit. According to a recent Deloitte survey, while two-thirds (67%) of consumers expect the economy to stay the same or weaken next year, nearly 3-out-of-5 people (59%) will put aside economic worries and spend the same or more this holiday season. This is a slight decline from 2010 but an eight percentage point increase from 2009.