News

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $400.6 billion.

The December figure is up 0.1% from November, and up 6.5% from December 2010.

Total sales for the October through December 2011 period were up 7.0% from the same period a year ago.

By Stephen Wyss, BDO USA, LLP

New York City -- Consumer confidence rose more than forecast in January, reaching its highest level in eight months amid signs of an improving labor market.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment increased to 74 from 69.9 at the end of December. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for 71.5. The measure has increased 9.9 points in the last two months, the biggest such gain since April-May 2009.

I have to admit it: I was shocked when I heard the news this week that Glen Senk, the widely-admired CEO of Urban Outfitters, was resigning.  Sure, the company wasn’t coming off the best of years, having battled lackluster sales throughout much of 2011. A series of fashion misses — nothing new in the always dicey world of women’s apparel — had taken their toll on profit as the retailer sought to clear slow-moving merchandise with deep discounts.

NEW YORK — Kohl's is the recipient of the People’s Pick award in The Harris Poll Customer Relationship Series, conducted by Harris Interactive. The award cognizes the strength of consumers' bonds with mid-tier department stores and reflects the customers' connections and future intentions.

NEW YORK — Although online sales grew 15% from 2010 to 2011, many retailers' online ordering, shipping and returns processes failed to keep pace, according to management consultancy Kurt Salmon's rankings of 50 retailers.

COMMERCE, Calif. — Sales at 99-Cents Only Stores rose 10.6% to $403.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 over sales of $365.4 milllion for the same quarter last year.  

The company's overall same-store sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 increased 8.5%. The number of same-store-sales transactions increased 5.6% and the average transaction size increased to $9.86 from $9.59.

BRUSSELS — Belgian supermarket operator Delhaize Group, which operates the Food Lion, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys, Hannaford Supermarkets, Reid's and Sweetbay regional banners in the United States, said Thursday it will close 113 Food Lion stores and eliminate the Bloom banner as part of a reorganization. The Fool Lion stores slated for closure are primarily in markets in which the company has the least store density.

The Germans didn’t know the precise landing point of the allied of invasion of Europe, but Walmart now knows where Target plans to launch its assault on the Canadian market.

SAN FRANCISCO — Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Thursday it has cut its fiscal Q4 earnings outlook below Wall Street expectations due to heavy holiday promotions levels.

The company said it had to offer discounts to entice shoppers this holiday season. Although earnings guidance has been reduced to below expectations, Williams-Sonoma’s revenue outlook remains in line with Wall Street, trimmed to a range of $1.24 billion to $1.26 billion. The company had previously expected revenue as high as $1.27 billion.