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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: retail

retail stories: 97 news summaries

1 - 20 of 97 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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bloodthirsty

 How Twilight 
 Rescued Hot Topic 

Goth retail mainstay is relevant again thanks to books, films

10 hours, 10 minutes ago
(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,... More »

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entertainment • retail • mall • vampire • Twilight • vampires • New Moon • Hot Topic • Jay-ZTV • shopping mall




 JC Penney Ditching 
 'Big Book' Catalog 

Oversize book was a relic in Internet age

Nov 18, 09 5:00 PM CST
(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 "It was an outdated way of... More »

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retail • JCPenney • website • J.C. Penney • catalog

iPhone Users Get Leg Up on Black Friday

App lets shoppers check deals, and rumored deals

Nov 5, 09 10:51 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • iPhone • holiday shopping • Black Friday • iPhone applications • App Store • dealnews

 Women Drive Recovery, 
 But Dissed By Retail 



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

Oct 26, 09 2:32 AM CDT
(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... More »

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China • retail • shopping • women • consumer spending • world • spending • economy • service sector • retail businesses

 Be Balloon Boy for Halloween 

Canadian company hawks costume

Oct 22, 09 5:38 PM CDT
(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... More »

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retail • Halloween • costume • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

green & green

 Target Will Pay Shoppers
 to Bring Their Own Bags 

Large retailers join smaller niche stores to offer rebates for reusing

Oct 19, 09 2:31 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • recycling • plastic bags • pollution • shopping • environmentalism • CVS • Target • retail shopping • pharmacy • drugstore • reusable bags • rebate

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

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

Oct 7, 09 3:39 AM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • luxury • Christmas • Neiman Marcus • gift • conspicuous consumption

 Christmas in September 
 Leaves Shoppers Cold 

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

Sep 28, 09 3:32 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • holiday • holiday shopping • holiday season

 Abercrombie Sues Beyoncé  
 Over Fierce Fragrance 

Retailer says it's already trademarked the name

Sep 16, 09 2:56 PM CDT
(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... More »

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retail • lawsuit • trademark • Beyonce • Patent and Trademark Office • perfume • fragrance • Abercrombie & Fitch • Sasha Fierce

(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • New York City • iPhone • Apple • iPod • Apple Store

 Your Lowly Penny 
 Can Actually Buy 
 Something 

Retailers lure back to school shoppers with 1¢ gimmick

Aug 19, 09 1:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Retailers, scrambling to connect with the fragile consumer psyche, have turned to the lowly penny for a boost, offering everything from clothing to crayons for a single cent, the LA Times reports. Nearly taken out of circulation three years ago, the penny may be a lousy coin, but it’... More »

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retail • Staples • promotion • back to school • sale • Wal-Mart • OfficeMax

 Lousy Retail Sales Will Delay Recovery

Recession isn't over
as far as consumers
are concerned

Aug 19, 09 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - If the recession is indeed waning, nobody told consumers. Retailers of every kind reported lousy sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports. Target’s same-store sales fell 6.2%, Home Depot’s dropped 9.1% and Saks’ plummeted a whopping 15.5%. And with... More »

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retail • recession • consumer spending • Home Depot • retail sales • Target • retail stores • economy • Saks • financial crisis • recession depression • retail sector

 New Kiss Disc 
 to Land at Wal-Mart 

Group becomes latest classic band to move merch through retailer

Aug 17, 09 7:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - The deal was sealed with a Kiss: the heavy metal band is joining the ranks of classic bands releasing their music through Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, the AP reports. Their new collection, “Sonic Boom,” comes out Oct. 6 only at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club; it... More »

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music • retail • Kiss • Sam's Club • heavy metal • Wal-Mart • Jay-ZTV

Michelle Inspires Shoppers—All the Way to the Hospital

Quest for Talbots dress KOs one imitator

Aug 7, 09 11:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michelle Obama’s taste for off-the-rack clothes has been a boon for retailers—but occasionally hairy for shoppers. The $169 sleeveless rose-print Talbots dress Obama donned for her Essence magazine cover shoot has become the struggling retailer's best-selling item, the Boston Herald reports. And so anxious was one Dallas... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • fashion • Michelle Obama • fashion industry • retailers

Ho-Ho-Hold on
a Minute,
Xmas in July?

Stores launch summer promotions to snag holiday dollars early

Jul 31, 09 4:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in malls across the country as stores angle for some extremely early holiday dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retailers like Toys'R'US, Sears and Kmart have dragged Santa away from his summer break and launched July Christmas promotions, hoping to boost sales... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • recession • retail sales • Christmas • holiday shopping • shoppers • Christmas shopping

(Newser) - France's Senate next week is expected to overturn a century-old law prohibiting most businesses in the country from opening on Sundays, CNN reports. The 1906 measure was intended to ensure a day of rest for the populace, and parties on the left and the right have been vocal in their... More »

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retail • shopping • Senate • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • legislation • Sundays • store

 Microsoft Ad 
 Campaign Gets 
 Under Apple's Skin 

Laptop-browsing spot may be boosting Microsoft's 'value perception'

Jul 16, 09 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Apple demanded Microsoft ditch TV ads featuring shoppers mulling the relative value of PCs and Macs, CNET reports. In the ads, which Microsoft’s chief operating officer calls “completely unscripted,” shoppers get to keep money they save by choosing a PC over a Mac. “We got a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • Microsoft • shopping • Apple • commercials • laptop • ad campaign • MacBook • notebooks • comparison shopping • Kevin Turner

(Newser) - Wal-Mart plans to begin asking suppliers to provide info on the environmental impact of their operations so the store can put so-called green rating labels on its products, the Wall Street Journal reports.The first cards probably won't appear for a few years, but given Wal-Mart's clout as the world's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • environment • retail • consumer products • label • Wal-Mart • greenhouse-gas emissions • carbon-neutral

(Newser) - Sears is taking the “Christmas in July” trope to a whole new level. With June retail sales tumbling, the company is looking for a boost by selling actual Christmas products, Time reports. Soon, 372 Sears stores will roll out displays hawking tree ornaments, stocking stuffers, and other decidedly off-season... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • recession • retail sales • Christmas • Sears Holding • department stores • Sears • Kmart

Manufacturers Drop Plasma TVs as LCD Takes Over

Pioneer, Vizio axe plasma production lines; retailers slash prices

Jul 2, 09 2:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - TV buyers are increasingly choosing liquid-crystal-display over plasma as LCD manufacturers beef up the technological capabilities of their sets, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 30 million LCDs sold in North America in 2008, compared with 4 million plasmas, Pioneer and Vizio are discontinuing their plasma lines. The shift means... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • retail • Samsung • flat screen TVs • LCD • consumer electronics • LCD TV • Plasma TV • Vizio • Pioneer • Jay-ZTV

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