News

New York City -- Coach's third-quarter net income increased 18% amid higher demand in North America, which helped offset an estimated $20 million hit to its revenue from Japan's tsunami and earthquake. Same-store sales in North America rose 10.3%. Analysts said Coach’s results offered further proof that spending by affluent shoppers is back on track and rising faster than other segments.

Net income rose to $186 million for the three months that ended April 2, up from $157.6 million a year earlier. Revenue rose nearly 15% to $950.7 million.

MINNEAPOLIS  -- Target announced that it will adopt green refrigeration technologies in its stores as part of its new membership in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) GreenChill program. 

CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif.  -- Retailers have been taking advantage of the much-anticipated "Royal Wedding" to promote their own wedding services, but one of the more surprising of the bunch is 99 Cents Only Stores, which used the hoopla around the upcoming union of Prince William and Kate Middleton to announce the launch of its "Bridal Registry" for couples.

New York City -- Consumer confidence recovered somewhat in April, though the impact of rising gasoline prices is still evident, according to data released Tuesday by the Conference Board.

The confidence index hit 65.4 in April, from an upwardly revised 63.8 in March. The reading is still below the 72.0 mark of February.

DALLAS -- Tuesday Morning cut its losses and posted a slight same-store sales increase for its fiscal third quarter, as the company heads toward profitability. The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $3.6 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $4.3 million, or 10 cents per share, for the same period last year.

Dallas -- RadioShack Corp. said Monday that it plans to sell $300 million in debt that will come due in 2019.

The retailer said it plans to use the proceeds from the sale of the senior notes for general corporate purposes, which may include stock buybacks.

BALDWYN, Miss. -- Hancock Fabrics reported that net sales for its fourth quarter were $78.4 million compared with $77.7 million in the fourth quarter last year, and comparable-same store sales increased 0.7%, compared with a 1.3% decrease in the previous year.

Operating income for the quarter was a loss of $8.4 million, a decrease of $11.7 million compared with a $3.3 million profit in the previous year’s fourth quarter.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A third-party certifier of Fair Trade consumer products said that 2010 saw an increase of such products on the market.

Fair Trade USA said that the Fair Trade market in 2010 saw a boost in both new and existing product categories. New products included apparel, green peppers, vodka and a wide array of herbs, spices and extracts. What's more, Fair Trade coffee and cocoa continued to expand. Fair Trade USA certified nearly 109 million lbs. of Fair Trade coffee, while nearly 3.9 million lbs. of cocoa received Fair Trade certification.