Mass Merchant

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Monthly hires in the retail industry remain well above the lows reached during the recession and suggest retail hiring is continuing to improve following sharp declines in 2008 and 2009, according to the January Kronos Retail Labor Index.

The Index dipped to 3.5% in December, reflecting a 7.6% drop in hires made. (The January report includes data for December 2011. The analysis and write-up is prepared by Macroeconomic Advisers LLC).

CHICAGO — Investment research firm Morningstar has named the outgoing CEO of Costco Wholesale as its 2011 CEO of the Year, the company said Wednesday.

Costco CEO Jim Sinegal, who retired on New Year's Day, received the recognition for what Morningstar called his "exemplary corporate stewardship, independent thinking" and creating "lasting value for shareholders."

MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Namath he’s not. Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel assured investors last month that December comps would exceed November’s 1.8% increase, but then Thursday morning reported a disappointing 1.6% increase and a reduced profit forecast.

New York City -- Many retailers reported solid sales gains for December, but the deep discounts and promotions that shoppers have come to expect cut into profits.  A range of retailers, including Target and The Children’s Place, reduced their, reducing their earnings outlooks. Overall, retail sales rose 3.4% at the 22 retailers tracked by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index, compared with the 3.3% analyst forecast.

Chicago -- General Growth Properties announced the addition of Von Maur department store as an anchor to Perimeter Mall, Atlanta, which has sales of more than $550 per square foot.

The department store is projected to open in fall 2012. Von Maur will replace the soon to be vacant Bloomingdale's location. Von Maur joins a retailer line-up that also includes Apple, Nordstrom, Michael Kors, Sur La Table, and Forever 21 among many others. Perimeter Mall is a 1.6 million-sq.-ft. two-level center north of downtown Atlanta.

NEW YORK — Many retailers reported solid sales gains for December, but the deep discounts and promotions that shoppers have come to expect cut into profits. A range of retailers, including Target and The Children’s Place, reduced their earnings outlooks. Overall, retail sales rose 3.4% at the 22 retailers tracked by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index, compared with the 3.3% analyst forecast.

In October of 2007, the U.K. newspaper, the Observer, reported that child workers, some as young as 10, were discovered working in an Indian textile factory in slave-like conditions to produce clothes for Gap Kids.  

New York City -- The nation’s discounters and department store retailers turned in mixed results for December, with many chains citing unseasonably warm weather that sapped demand for cold-weather merchandise.

“Cold-weather categories, which are highly profitable and represent approximately 25% of our business in December, were down mid-teens on a percentage basis,” said Tony Buccina, vice chairman, president – merchandising, The Bon-Ton Stores, whose December same-store sales fell 0.7%. The company widened its loss forecast.