News

AUSTIN, Texas -- Whole Foods announced that it is providing shoppers with a new level of transparency about how farm animals are raised by now offering beef, pork and chicken certified under 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system.

The rating system is the signature program of Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit organization that facilitates and encourages continuous improvement in animal agriculture. Independent, third-party certifiers audit farms and rate animal welfare practices and conditions using a tiered system as follows: 

Brisbane, Calif. -- Bebe Stores reported a loss for its second quarter as bad weather cut into sales and it closed some stores.

The clothing company posted a loss of $2.7 million for the quarter compared with a profit of $2.4 million in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 2% to $132.7 million for the period that ended Jan. 1.

Same-store sales were flat for the quarter, compared with a drop of 22.5% a year earlier.

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets on Thursday reported an 8.7% increase in its fiscal-year 2010 net income to $68.3 million for the 52-week period ended Dec. 25, and said its earnings per share for the year increased 21 cents to $2.54 per share, compared with the same period a year ago.

The central Pennsylvania grocer reported a sales increase of 4.1% for the year to $2.6 billion. Comparable-store sales were up 1%.

New York City -- January saw strong growth across most retail categories, continuing the positive performance from fourth quarter 2010, albeit at a slightly slower pace, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a report on national retail and services sales that is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network and survey-based estimates for other payment forms, such as cash and check.

LOS ANGELES —  According to PriceGrabber survey on consumer purchasing decisions for Valentine's Day, 52% of Valentine’s Day shoppers indicate that the economy will not have any effect on their purchasing decisions for Valentine’s Day 2011. Despite their confidence in the economy, 78% of survey respondents indicate they will not spend more money on Valentine’s Day shopping this year compared with last year. The remaining 22% of consumers plan to spend more on Valentine’s Day shopping this year.

Friday was to be something of a special occasion in Northwest Arkansas, until extreme winter weather forced a change of plans. Word arrived yesterday that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner would not be visiting the area as originally planned, but the visit was postponed rather than cancelled, and he would be rescheduling the visit. Originally, he was scheduled to meet with regional business leaders to discuss how government and the private sector can work together to out-innovate the competition and grow the economy, according to a Treasury press release.

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. said Friday its board has approved buying back up to $500 million worth of the company's stock and bonds over the next 18 months.

The retailer said the new $500 million allotment will replace a previous $300 million already set aside for buybacks, of which $138.4 million was left to spend. Stock buybacks reduce the number of outstanding shares, which boosts per-share earnings and expands the size if current shareholders' stakes.

RESTON, Va.  -- According to comScore's Q4 2010  U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, online retail spending reached a record $43.4 billion for the quarter, up 11% versus year ago. This growth rate represented the fifth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and second quarter of double-digit growth rates in the past year.