News

COLUMBUS, Ohio — DSW is giving students at the Fashion Institure of Technology in New York City a chance to accelerate their careers. The retailer announced that is sponsoring "A Design Affair," a contest that will award one winner with a cash prize, intership and his or her shoes being sold at DSW.

NEW YORK — The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index, released Thursday, continued downward in January and consumer spending will face additional economic headwinds in 2012, according to Deloitte. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — In time for the upcoming Olympic Games in London, Spalding has snagged Misty May-Treanor, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the current no. 1-ranked American volleyball player in the world, for a long-term marketing, licensing and promotional agreement with the brand.

ARMONK, N.Y. — Analysts at IBM are confident that retail sales are positioned for increases across a broad spectrum of categories.

According to a report released by the company, the surge will be led by a projected 8.2% rise in men’s apparel sales.

“The forecast of men’s apparel sales reflects a growing trend: men are definitely developing a taste for fashion – especially in business attire,” said Jill Puleri, global retail leader for IBM Global Business Services.

Consistent with Walmart’s drive toward every day low prices, January saw the company run fewer, but larger advertising inserts, according to the latest information from marketing intelligence firm Market Track. To see how Walmart’s advertising activity stacked up to other top retailers, click here.

By Shannon Martin, [email protected]

There are a variety of new technologies that will become available throughout 2012 to small business owners looking for ways to process credit and debit cards. In the past, business have had to rely on costly terminals purchased from merchant account providers who charged not only for the equipment, but also for the processing of the cards used by a business’ customers.

Armonk, N.Y. -- An analysis released Thursday by IBM projected that retail sales are positioned for increases across a broad spectrum of categories.

According to the study, the surge will be led by a projected 8.2% rise in men’s apparel sales.

“The forecast of men’s apparel sales reflects a growing trend: men are definitely developing a taste for fashion – especially in business attire,” said Jill Puleri, global retail leader for IBM Global Business Services.

New York City -- The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index, released Thursday, continued downward in January and consumer spending will face additional economic headwinds in 2012, according to Deloitte. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters reported Thursday that sales for the fourth quarter, ended Jan. 31, rose 9% to $731 million.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the first quarter rose a better-than-expected 33% to $118.3 million amid increased customer visits and higher prices on select items. On a follow-up conference call with analysts, the chain revealed it has 69 new stores in development, or 2.4 million square feet, in development.