Retail

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending dropped 0.2% in April 2013, according to the Commerce Department.

It was the first monthly decline since May of last year and follows increases of 0.1% in March and 0.8% in February. Falling gas prices in April were part of the reason for the drop in spending, with purchases of gas, electricity and other energy goods and services down 4.4%.

In addition, increased Social Security deductions in consumer paychecks may have also contributed to the decline in spending.

CINCINNATI — Macy’s plans to open its second store in Puerto Rico in fall 2015.

The two-level, 150,000-sq.-ft. store will be located in the Plaza Del Caribe mall in Ponce. Construction is slated to begin next year and the store is expected to employ 275 associates.

Starbucks Coffee Company is extending its indoor no-smoking policy to the outdoors. The company will prohibit anyone up to 25 feet from a Starbucks store from smoking, effective June 1, where permitted by its leases. 

The new rule will apply to the 7,000 shops owned and operated by Starbucks Corp., regardless of whether they have outdoor seating areas. 

New York -- Macy’s on Friday announced the second phase of the four-year renovation of its Herald Square flagship in New York City. 

The project will include the completion of the main, mezzanine and second floors of the store bridging both the Broadway and Seventh Ave. buildings by holiday 2013. 

NEW YORK — Costco Wholesale Corp. is looking to open approximately 150 locations over the next five years, CFO Richard Galanti said on the company’s quarterly conference call with investors.

“And if we get a little better than that, great,” he added. “But that’s certainly a good starting point given where we’ve come over the last few years.”

Of the total, about 55 of the new units would be in the United States, with the rest located in Canada or foreign markets.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Genesco, a specialty footwear and apparel retailer operating numerous brick-and-mortar and online retail brands including Journeys and Lids.com, reported declines in earnings and net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

The company’s earnings declined 11% to $18.5 million from $20.8.

Net sales decreased 1.5% to $591 million from $600 million. Same-store sales fell 4%. Earnings remained slightly ahead of the company’s expectations.

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is on a roll. The white-hot luxury fashion and accessories company plans to open up to 50 stores in North America in its current fiscal year, plus additional units in Europe and the Far East. Michael Kors currently has 44 stores in Europe, with another 40 planned for its new fiscal year. 

New York -- Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, announced plans to invest $100 million over the next three years in a national chain of marijuana stores. The stores would sell both medical-use and adult-use (recreational) cannabis. Shively is now CEO of San Diego-based Diego Pellicer, which describes itself as the first legal premium marijuana retailer in the United States.