News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Net sales for Spartan Stores slightly declined nearly 0.6% to $782.3 million during the third quarter.

During the quarter, which ended Jan. 1, Spartan also experienced a rise in operating earnings, which increased from $13.7 million in third quarter 2009 to $16.6 million. Third-quarter earnings from continuing operations improved 42% percent to $7.5 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, from $5.3 million, or 23 cents per diluted share.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the fourth quarter fell 2%. The company cited client losses and fewer Medicare prescription drug program members for the lackluster performance.

Net income declined to $1.03 billion, compared with $1.05 billion in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 4% to $24.77 billion. Wall Street expected $24.98 billion in revenue.

ATLANTA -- Home Depot will make a bigger push for the female shopper this spring, largely through the introduction of coordinating Martha Stewart merchandise, company merchant Gordon Erickson told the New York Times in a Jan. 28 interview.

Los Angeles -- Ralphs Grocery Co. has pleaded no contest to overcharging customers for prepackaged and weighed products at stores in Los Angeles, according to a Thursday report by the Associated Press.

The grocery chain entered pleas before the case was scheduled to go to trial. The no contest plea was entered for 62 misdemeanor charges, including false advertising, mislabeling and selling items that weigh less than they should.

A sentencing date will be set Thursday.

NEW YORK --Dillard’s was the clear winner in the department store category in January, posting a same-store sales increase of 6%, which edged results from both Macy’s and Saks.

JCPenney was the big disappointment, as same-store sales dropped an unexpected 1.2%. A survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters produced a consensus estimate of same-store sales up 1.8%.

The retailer said January sales were impacted by lower levels of clearance inventory as well as by adverse weather conditions.

Retail sales during January offered a mix bag of results and made it rather tricky to determine how much results were influenced by harsh winter weather, gift card redemption rates, a still shaky economic recovery and individual company strategies.

BURLINGTON, N.J. -- Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. announced that net sales for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29, 2011 were $1.188 billion compared with $1.12 billion for the comparative period ended Jan. 30, 2010, a 6.1% increase. Comparative-store sales increased 1.2% for the quarter.

From a licensed product sales standpoint it doesn’t get much better than having the Pittsburgh Steelers and Greenbay Packers squaring off this Sunday in Super Bowl XLV. Both teams are storied franchises, and although they are from relatively small markets, enjoy a national following, which means plenty of shoppers have been out looking to acquire fresh gear for the big game and will be looking to do so in the weeks following the game.