News

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. said fourth-quarter earnings rose 29% as net sales jumped 12% to $1.1 billion. The company earned $181.2 million in the quarter compared with $140.4 million in the year-ago period. The latest quarter includes from the pending relocation of Tiffany's New York headquarters staff.

For the full year, worldwide net sales increased 14% to $3.1 billion. Net earnings from continuing operations rose 39% to $368.4 million.

New York City -- A new poll released Friday finds that New Yorkers would shop at Walmart if one opened in the city. According to the Quinnipiac University poll, 68% of New Yorkers said that if it were convenient for them, they would shop at Walmart. That is compared with 29% who said they would not.

Nearly identical numbers of people say the chain's lower prices would eat into small business sales.

Of those polled, 57% say they think elected officials should allow Walmart to move into the city, while 36% do not.

By Jon Weber, [email protected]

As a consumer, you’re aware that basic demographic information doesn’t reflect your personality or pinpoint why you make your purchasing decisions. Retailers that probe beneath the surface of shallow customer profiles can gain the true market intelligence required to uncover new opportunities and focus on areas with the highest growth potential.

As part of the multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of Power Plant Live! in Baltimore, The Cordish Cos. announced that entertainment concepts PBR Baltimore and The Baltimore Comedy Factory hosted grand openings the first two weekends in March. 

These latest downtown destinations join the recently opened Tatu Asian Grill in the restaurant, entertainment and office district that is now going on its 12th year of operations.

Former Walmart president and CEO Lee Scott will step down from the board of Goldman Sachs after serving just one year, according to a report late Thursday by the Financial Times. The publication indicated that a person familiar with the situation said service on the Goldman board demanded significantly more time than Scott had anticipated.

Sam’s Club has installed multiple self-checkout lanes at its club in Bentonville as part of a test that is reportedly limited to three clubs. At the Bentonville location, the two self-checkout lanes are easily identified with a large triangular overhead sign that says, “Self Checkout” Additional signs at the entry to the checkout lane call out the payment process with the words, “scan, pay, go.” Nearby, two additional self-checkout payment terminals are positioned on opposite sides of a table for shoppers with smaller purchases.

A first of its kind conference focused on shopper behavior is scheduled for May 12 in Fayetteville, Ark., home of the Center for Retailing Excellence within the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. The conference is called SHOP and features a number of thought leaders in the field of consumer research and shopper insights and was designed to complement the Center’s Emerging Trends in Retailing Conference that is held each fall.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Walmart announced it has eliminated more than 80% of the waste that would go to landfills from its operations in California by implementing a comprehensive waste reduction program. The results far exceed national average where EPA estimates only 45% of waste is diverted from landfills and the California rate of 65%.

The program is now being rolled out across the chain’s 4,400 stores, Sam’s Club locations and distribution centers in the United States, moving the retailer closer to its global goal of creating zero waste.

NEW YORK — Next to gas, the rising cost of food almost always tops consumers' list of spending concerns, and those concerns will surely rise as food prices reached peak levels last month, according to the Labor Department's Producer Price Index. The particularly high increase in the cost of both fresh and dry vegetables not only hurts consumer wallets, but could also curtail efforts, such as this partnership between First Lady Obama and Walmart, to encourage Americans to eat healthier.

HUDSON, Ohio -- Jo-Ann Stores announced that its shareholders approved the adoption of the merger agreement between an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. and the company. Of the shares that were voted, over 99% were in favor of the adoption of the merger agreement. Approximately 82% of the total outstanding shares, as of the record date, voted in favor of the merger agreement. The company anticipates the closing of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, including the merger, will occur later today.