By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc NMRCUS.UL will use e-commerce to push into new international markets, with plans to start a Chinese website by July and offer overseas shipping on its main site in time for the holiday season.

Neiman Marcus currently gets international revenue only from shipping to Canada from its U.S. websites. Its 42 namesake department stores, as well as its outlet locations and Bergdorf Goodman store, are all in the United States.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – HSN Inc (HSNI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is on the hunt for more acquisitions to build up its stable of mail order catalog and e-commerce businesses, the television and Internet-based retailer’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

HSN, which bought children’s clothing e-retailer Chasing Fireflies in April, is looking for more e-commerce deals in the $50 million to $250 million range, HSN Chief Executive Mindy Grossman told the Reuters Retail and Consumer Summit.

(For other news from Reuters Retail and Consumer Summit, click here)

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Shoppers the world over are stressed and forcing retail executives to be both more aggressive and more conservative heading into the year-end holiday period and new year.

U.S. retail executives are not reading too much into a recent uptick in consumer spending growth, while their European counterparts are dealing with shoppers afraid that the region is slipping into recession.

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Tiffany & Co sees big
potential in its watch business and plans to build it back up
once its feud with one-time partner Swatch Group SA is
settled, the U.S. jeweler said on Thursday.

The company only gets about 2 percent of sales from watches
now, but Chief Executive Officer Michael Kowalski said at a
conference that the percentage could be much more over time and
even return to the 9 percent level of two decades ago.

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Luxury brands saw resilience at high-end department stores in the latest quarter, showing that wealthy shoppers are buying despite lingering concerns about the global economy.

Results issued on Tuesday by Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (KORS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Estee Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were the latest signals of strength in high-end brands.

Aug 14 (Reuters) – Luxury brands saw resilience at high-end
U.S. department stores in the latest quarter, showing that
wealthy shoppers are buying despite lingering concerns about the
global economy.

Results issued on Tuesday by Michael Kors Holdings Ltd
and Estee Lauder Cos Inc were the latest signals
of strength in high-end brands.

New York (Reuters) – Samsonite International SA (1910.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Thursday bought high-end luggage brand Hartmann in a $35 million push to win a bigger share of the luxury travel goods market and build up U.S. sales.

In its second deal in as many months, Samsonite, the world’s largest luggage maker, acquired Hartmann from private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners for $35 million in cash and said the deal would start adding to its earnings per share in 2013.

Aug 1 (Reuters) – Avon Products Inc said
second-quarter profit plunged 70 percent as the world’s largest
direct-seller of cosmetics sold fewer items and continued to
lose sales representatives in key markets.

Avon shares were down 3.2 percent to $15 in premarket
trading Wednesday.

Avon is trying to stem falling sales, especially in key
markets like Russia and Brazil, under new chief executive Sheri
McCoy, who took the reins from long-time CEO Andrea Jung in
April. It also faces a U.S. government probe into whether it
broke anti-bribery laws overseas. It has spent $250 million
dollars on its own internal probe, which opened in 2008.

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Avon Products Inc (AVP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said second-quarter profit plunged 70 percent as the world’s largest direct-seller of cosmetics sold fewer items and continued to lose sales representatives in key markets.

Avon shares were down 3.2 percent to $15 in premarket trading Wednesday.

Avon is trying to stem falling sales, especially in key markets like Russia and Brazil, under new chief executive Sheri McCoy, who took the reins from long-time CEO Andrea Jung in April. It also faces a U.S. government probe into whether it broke anti-bribery laws overseas. It has spent $250 million dollars on its own internal probe, which opened in 2008.

July 31 (Reuters) – Upscale leather goods maker Coach Inc
(COH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a marked slowdown in sales growth following a
poorly timed decision to eliminate coupons at its outlet stores
as the U.S. economy weakened and consumers pulled back.

The results drove Coach shares down more than 17 percent to
$50.04, their worst single-day performance since just after the
Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.