retail – News Stories About retail - Page 5

mea culpa

Aug 6, 2010 8:01 AM CDT

Sorry About That Donation: Target CEO

Gregg Steinhafel apologizes, but doesn't renounce donation

(Newser) - Responding to the boycott of his company , Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized to employees for donating to political group MN Forward, which supports right-wing politician Tom Emmer. The intent “was to support economic growth and job creation,” he wrote , but the “decision affected many of you in...

MoveOn.org: Boycott Target

Aug 4, 2010 11:14 AM CDT

MoveOn.org: Boycott Target

Retailer's donation to anti-gay marriage candidate sparks controversy

(Newser) - MoveOn.org has asked its members to boycott Target, in response to a $150,000 donation the retail giant gave to a PAC supporting ultra-conservative Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. The group tells Reuters it’s already gotten 200,000 members to sign up for the boycott. “Most Americans...

Wal-Mart Wants
to Conquer Rest
of World Now

Jun 8, 2010 4:13 PM CDT

Wal-Mart Wants to Conquer Rest of World Now

Slow domestic demand shifts megastore's focus abroad

(Newser) - Wal-Mart may be quintessentially American, but the chain's focus is becoming increasingly international. With the US consumer listless and purchasing power growing—despite the recession—in many developing countries, Wal-Mart is following demand abroad. Its international division reached $100 billion in sales last year, and the company will soon have...

Wal-Mart Yanks Toxic Miley Cyrus Jewelry

Wal-Mart Yanks Toxin-Tainted
Miley Cyrus Jewelry

May 20, 2010 3:37 AM CDT

Wal-Mart Yanks Toxin-Tainted Miley Cyrus Jewelry

AP investigation finds high levels of cadmium

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is yanking a line of Miley Cyrus bracelets and necklaces after an Associated Press investigation turned up dangerous levels of toxic cadmium in the jewelry. Long-term exposure to cadmium, a known carcinogen, can lead to bone softening and kidney failure, and hinder brain development in the young. It's only...

Tech Losers of the '00s

Decade in Review

Dec 31, 2009 2:13 PM CST

Tech Losers of the '00s

From AOL to Motorola to Circuit City, these companies couldn't keep up

(Newser) - It’s been an amazing decade for technology, but not everyone came out ahead. CrunchGear considers the big losers of the '00s, starting with the biggest: Brick and mortar retailers. Once consumers learned to trust online merchants, lots of stores—we’re looking at you Circuit City and CompUSA—went...

Coke, Costco Bury the Hatchet

cola wars

Dec 10, 2009 1:51 PM CST

Coke, Costco Bury the Hatchet

Bulk retailer, beverage titan reconcile pricing dispute

(Newser) - Coca-Cola and Costco have ironed out a pricing dispute that kept the warehouse chain from restocking its shelves with the soda titan's products for over a month. Coke devotees should be seeing their favorite beverages at the stores soon, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said. "Our sign on shelves—'Until...

Parents Fall
to Pieces Over
Unassembled Toys

THanks for nothing, IKEA

Dec 3, 2009 11:35 AM CST

Parents Fall to Pieces Over Unassembled Toys

Construction toy sales booming, but then you have to build them

(Newser) - Toys that required assembly were once an end in themselves, and their elaborate instructions made the process fun. These days, parents shopping for their kids don’t have much of a choice. “Toys do have more parts today,” a store owner tells the New York Times . Shipping flat...

Holiday Shoppers
Ditched Credit Cards

Nov 30, 2009 4:16 AM CST

Holiday Shoppers Ditched Credit Cards

Most used cash or debit cards to snag bargains

(Newser) - Recession-strapped Americans may have developed a plastic allergy—only 26% of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers used credit cards. Though consumers proved willing to spend over the holiday weekend, they seem to be changing how they spend: a whopping 39% used old-fashioned greenbacks, with debit cards making up the rest, according to...

Black Friday Brings Out
the Shoppers

Nov 27, 2009 9:05 AM CST

Black Friday Brings Out the Shoppers

Consumers not too downtrodden for 5am campouts

(Newser) - Economic woes didn’t prevent shoppers from camping out outside stores across the country this morning, as retailers offered especially deep Black Friday discounts. Most opened early as well, with some, including Wal-Mart and many Old Navy stores, opening yesterday to get a jump on things. Toys R Us opened...

Requiem for
the Soft Sell
of the Catalog

OPINION

Nov 25, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Requiem for the Soft Sell of the Catalog

As retailers focus online, the 'serene' paper version will be missed

(Newser) - Greg Beato couldn’t care less about the impending demise of print stalwarts like newspapers and magazines, but he will shed a tear when the flood of mail-order catalogs in his mailbox slows to a trickle. Where online shopping is “largely functional,” and TV ads “noisy and...

How Twilight
Rescued Hot Topic

bloodthirsty

Nov 20, 2009 11:34 AM CST

How Twilight Rescued Hot Topic

Goth retail mainstay is relevant again thanks to books, films

(Newser) - Like much of America, Ylan Q. Mui had forgotten all about Hot Topic, the mall mainstay for baby Goth merchandise—and then Twilight came along and made the store relevant again. The uber-popular vampire franchise “accomplished what the store had tried but failed to do: It made goth mainstream,...

JC Penney Ditching
'Big Book' Catalog

Nov 18, 2009 5:00 PM CST

JC Penney Ditching 'Big Book' Catalog

Oversize book was a relic in Internet age

(Newser) - Retailer JC Penney is discontinuing its Big Book—the 1,000-page catalog as big as a telephone book—as customers increasingly buy from jcp.com. The Penney Big Book has long been a cultural fixture for many, but younger customers aren't following suit. "It was an outdated way of...

iPhone Users Get Leg Up on Black Friday

Nov 5, 2009 10:51 PM CST

iPhone Users Get Leg Up on Black Friday

App lets shoppers check deals, and rumored deals

(Newser) - If you’re already getting your Black Friday game face on, consider making the Black Friday app the first thing on your shopping list. The free program from dealnews can keep you up to date on both officially announced bargains and deals that have “leaked,” and lets you...

Women Drive Recovery,
But Dissed By Retail

Oct 26, 2009 2:32 AM CDT

Women Drive Recovery, But Dissed By Retail

Biz approach to females: take 'a male product and paint it pink'

(Newser) - Women who shop til they drop are stimulating the economy more than any Ben Bernanke, but the planet's greatest spending bloc feels dissed by retailers and service providers. Women control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending in the world—a figure likely to climb to $28 trillion by 2014. Despite...

Be Balloon Boy for Halloween

Oct 22, 2009 5:38 PM CDT

Be Balloon Boy for Halloween

Canadian company hawks costume

(Newser) - It was inevitable: a Canadian model airplane company is selling “Balloon Boy” Halloween costumes on its website. For $19.99, you get a 38-inch mylar balloon with a small gondola. Supply your own helium, cardboard box, and string, notes ABC Denver. "Now you, too, can enjoy all the...

Target Will Pay Shoppers
to Bring Their Own Bags

green & green

Oct 19, 2009 2:31 PM CDT

Target Will Pay Shoppers to Bring Their Own Bags

Large retailers join smaller niche stores to offer rebates for reusing

(Newser) - Target and CVS will reward customers for using reusable shopping bags, and the efforts could take a billion plastic bags out of circulation. Though some retailers—notably Wal-Mart—have been slow to hop on the eco bandwagon, initiatives at smaller chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have met...

Neiman 'Fantasy Gift'
Pricetags Plummet
to Mere $250K

Oct 7, 2009 3:39 AM CDT

Neiman 'Fantasy Gift' Pricetags Plummet to Mere $250K

Slowdown scales down costs as even super-rich turn 'frugal'

(Newser) - The slowdown in luxury spending has spurred Neiman Marcus to make its "fantasy items" in this year's Christmas catalog a lot less fantastic than in years past. For the first time in a decade there's no $1 million-plus items on offer, like the $20 million submarine offered in 2000...

Christmas in September
Leaves Shoppers Cold

Sep 28, 2009 3:32 PM CDT

Christmas in September Leaves Shoppers Cold

No, you're not crazy, it is still September

(Newser) - Look around your local department store, and you might encounter a ridiculous site: a Christmas display. Yes, retailers are already decking their halls, desperate to get a piece of consumers’ dwindling holiday budgets before their competitors do. Consumers aren't buying it. “You can’t get in the Christmas spirit...

Abercrombie Sues Beyoncé
Over Fierce Fragrance

Sep 16, 2009 2:56 PM CDT

Abercrombie Sues Beyoncé Over Fierce Fragrance

Retailer says it's already trademarked the name

(Newser) - Abercrombie & Fitch has filed a lawsuit against Beyoncé in a tussle over her new fragrance, named for alter ego Sasha Fierce, Women's Wear Daily reports. A&F says it has owned the Fierce trademark since 2003, and that her plan "poses a likelihood of confusion" in the big-bucks...

Apple Stores Defy Recession's Bite on Retailers

Aug 24, 2009 9:03 AM CDT

Apple Stores Defy Recession's Bite on Retailers

(Newser) - Recession or no recession, customers have kept lining up to buy iPhones and other Apple products, Bloomberg reports. Apple’s store revenues grew 2.5% over the first six months of 2009, even as retail sales overall fell 9.2%. In New York, where boutiques on Fifth Avenue are largely...