Walmart Opening brings out the Union Protesters

http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2009/10/300_union_members_protest_at_n.html

Walmart for years has been fighting the grass roots movement of forming a union for the worlds largest retail store. They have done this by intimidation, harassment, and firings to keep the rumblings from becoming anything more then that.

http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/

VIDEO: How not to liquidate a retail store

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6NRLnbnuic&feature=player_embedded

This video shows the harsh reality of a small business owner (a hardware store) going out of business. Usually a large company will let a liquidator handle their closing and getting rid of the merchandise. But small business owners don't have extra money to pay a liquidator or are not willing to give a share of the profits. So like many small business owners they go in independently and try to liquidate themselves. This video shows what happens when a foreclosure goes wrong.

U.S. retail sales fall in september

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/10/12/daily31.html?s=industry&i=retailing_restaurants
This article states the department of commerce fell 1.5 percent in september but earlier followed up with a 2.2% increase in september. This may have caused the quick decision making to eliminate the cash for clunkers program. Wal- mart, Target and places that sell small items and products were not affected, but auto industries sales decreased.

Olympics of Retail Business

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/15/200910150064.asp

Retail leaders discussed a variety of topics in South Korea. The four day event consists of 3,330 retailers from 24 Asian-Pacific countries with the title "retail for the future of life and economy". Korea's retail industry accounted for 7.3 percent of gross domestic product and 15.4 percent of jobs in 2008. Experts projected that Asian companies will experience the fastest change in their business environment over the next five to 10 years. The Asian explosion has no signs of slowing down even in economic downtime. I believe this type of meeting of an industry to discuss what future paths it wants to take are an important step in the planning process. It also enables companies to see ideas others have and this creates innovation and competition.

IKEA puts a holt on plans of coming to India for now...

http://retail-tech.blogspot.com/2009/06/ikea-not-coming-to-india-not-yet.html

In this article, it talks about how IKEA planned to invest $1 billion in India to start retail chain stores in Delhi and Mumbai. But after they saw a lack of early government action in the issue they decided to withdrawal from the idea.

Consumer Confidential: Sales, stuff and soda

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_blog/2009/10/consumer-confidential-9.html

The recent news declining retail sales are due to the success of the recent "cash for clunkers" program where rebates where given to older cars that qualify. To qualify a car must have a certain Miles Per Gallon (MPG). But during the news you don't hear an explanation of why retail sales are down. In the headlines it won't explain either and I believe this is not good for the moral of the consumer, when all that is heard is retail sales are down.

Swipe Fees

http://blog.nrf.com/

In this article, NRF (National Retail Federation) Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Mallory Duncan explains why "swipe fees" are making America's debt sky-rocket from $16 billon to a whopping $48 billion in just a few years.

Advanced Auto Parts inc. available market online

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/10/12/daily7.html?s=industry&i=retailing_restaurants

The company has finally released an e commerce website which allows consumers to buy from them directly online. The company can become more flexible with shipping and purchase of 75.00 are free S&H. There growth in market has been expanding as well as the company's income and revenue. They have recently worked with a site where they only put a description of their parts. This website was called partsamerica.com

The TJ Maxx Fitting Room Experience

http://retaildesigndiva.blogs.com/retail_design_diva/2009/10/a-pleasant-surprise.html

This article talks about what a joy it is to shop at TJ Maxx, where it is filled with excellent bargains. Although you may have to look very hard to find "the good stuff", it is well worth the wait when you find that one top or one pair of jeans that you were looking for everywhere. Now its time to try your clothes on. But, this is where many customers have a problem because inside of the room they have something that most people like to call, "The Fat Mirror". The mirror being the biggest problem along with the chipped paint, stringy carpet, and that fluorescent lighting that no one likes. Recently, they changed the dressing rooms because of complaints from the customers. Now, their dressing rooms are customer-friendly being clean, bright, and colorful. The best part about it was, they got rid of "The Fat Mirror". Because of this change, people feel more excited to go try something on rather than just try the items on at home.

514K New jobless claims inflation remains muted

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/10/15/general-financial-administration-us-economy_7005455.html

A summary of the article is stating that unemployment insurance rates have fallen to the lowest level. This is a sign that the market could be recovering. They have eliminated numerous jobs since the recession in 2007.l The people have moved on to extended benefit programs. They fear that economy will grow but it won't be fast enough to bring down unemployment rates

Retail stocks dip, Gap boosts Marketing

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/retail-stocks-dip-gap-boosts-marketing/



Retail stocks fell on the S&P retail index, meanwhile GAP is opening up its first store in China. I believe this is a good move due to the boom of middle class families living in China. If any large retail company is looking to expand I believe global expansion is the only option due to the sour taste left in the mouths of US consumers after the economic downturn.

Predictions for the Holiday season

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5950R220091008

Strong retail sales raise holiday hopes

Thu Oct 8, 2009 10:45am EDT

By Jessica Wohl

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers gave investors an early Christmas present, posting their first monthly sales increase in more than a year and suggesting that wounded consumers might begin to heal in time for the crucial holiday season.

Store chains that included Macy's Inc, Abercrombie & Fitch and Kohl's Corp surprised Wall Street on Thursday with better-than-expected September sales.

The Standard & Poor's Retail Index rose 1.6 percent, with shares of Macy's up 2.9 percent and Abercrombie rising 6 percent.

Based on 30 retailers, sales at stores open at least a year climbed 0.6 percent, compared with expectations for a 1.1 percent decline, according to Thomson Reuters data. Nearly 80 percent of the companies beat expectations.

The last time sales rose was in August 2008, when retailers notched a 0.2 percent gain. That was just before a financial collapse in September constricted credit worldwide and sent jobless rates climbing.

Retail experts cautioned that the sales results did not yet presage a consumer-driven recovery to the U.S. economy.

"You need to see sales coming through, margins holding and overall profit rising," said Michael Niemira, chief economist of the International Council of Shopping Centers. "That overall story needs to play out for retail recovery to be solid."

The ICSC said October same-store sales should be about flat with a year earlier, when retailers averaged a 4.1 percent drop, according to Thomson Reuters data.

One factor in the higher September sales was an easier comparison with previous results. Same-store sales fell 0.9 percent in September 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"We only get better or stronger from here, given the weak comparisons with a year ago," Niemira said.

This year's later Labor Day holiday pushed a good chunk of sales from August into September, but analysts had wondered if rising unemployment would weigh more heavily on spending.

On Thursday, a Labor Department report showed new U.S. jobless claims hit a nine-month low, suggesting the employment market was healing despite a September setback.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL, LATE LABOR DAY HELP SALES

Sales of clothing for the back-to-school season fueled many retailers' performances, especially in the early part of the month.

Several chains raised their profit forecasts for the current quarter, although Target Corp said it still had a cautious view of its fiscal fourth quarter, which includes the holiday season.

Holiday spending could be further constrained by shoppers' aversion to debt. Total U.S. consumer credit posted a deeper-than-expected drop in August, suggesting a tendency to cut debt rather than spend.

Many retailers continued to post declines in sales at stores open at least a year, but the drops were more moderate than analysts had forecast.

"I think the consumer is dipping their toe back into the discretionary waters right now, but just their toe," said Retail Metrics President Ken Perkins.

At Macy's, sales fell 2.3 percent, half as much as analysts anticipated. Upscale rival Nordstrom Inc's sales fell 2.4 percent, while analysts expected a 6 percent drop.

Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie saw same-store sales drop 18 percent, but that was better than the 21 percent decline predicted by analysts.

TJX Cos Inc, Kohl's, Limited Brands Inc and Children's Place were among the retailers that posted same-store sales increases.

COOLER TEMPERATURES HELP

Aeropostale Inc, American Eagle Outfitters Inc, Gymboree Corp and others raised their quarterly profit forecasts. Still, not all of the gains are coming from stronger sales. Gymboree's optimism stemmed mainly from inventory control and taking fewer markdowns.

Gap Inc's sales fell more than anticipated, but its shares edged up 0.3 percent after the company said margins came in significantly above last year.

TJX, whose message of value has made it one of the best performers in the downturn, saw even more shoppers visit its stores in September. Chief Executive Officer Carol Meyrowitz said seasonably cool temperatures in parts of the United States probably drove consumers to shop for fall merchandise.

One of the few retailers to miss expectations was luxury chain Saks Inc. It posted an 11.6 percent decline, with weakness persisting at its main Saks Fifth Avenue chain.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl, Brad Dorfman and Ben Klayman in Chicago, Nicole Maestri in San Francisco, Aarthi Sivaraman in Seattle, Michele Gershberg in New York and Vidya Lakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)