After a week of guessing, Ann Taylor Stores finally came clean on Friday about the target of its new, and as yet unnamed,  chain — baby boomers.

(There’s a few of their kind in the picture to the right, in a movie that ruined all sorts of good songs for generations.)

AnnTaylor, which reported better-than-expected earnings on Friday, said last week it hired Mark Mendelson to run the chain, but declined to say what the chain would be. The New York Times reported that it was boomers — people born in the U.S. in the relative quiet following World War II and before the Civil Rights movement — but the company refused to confirm it until Friday that it was moving into territory where other rivals have already tried and failed.

“The new concept is targeted at a significantly underserved segment of the apparel market, one that we call the modern boomer,” said Chief Executive Kay Krill on a conference call.

Analysts have said it is a smart niche to pursue, since baby boomers are underserved and tend to have more disposable income. On the other hand, they are less moved by peer pressure, and have had decades to amass shopping savvy and a closet full of basics.

Gap, for example, began closing its Forth & Towne stores less than 2 years after launching the chain.

“While there are a number of companies that currently play in the broader boomer market, we believe that this particular segment has been the most significantly underserved and a huge opportunity for us,” Krill said.

Analysts seem to agree.

 ”Currently, it appears a number of companies are trying to attract this customer, but it is with mixed success,” notes Jennifer Black of Jennifer Black & Assoc. ”We believe there is opportunity for the agile, quick-to-respond, and highly creative company to consistently provide product to this market.  Our sense is that the ‘modern boomer’ is eclectic and very lifestyle driven.”

Roxanne Meyer, an analyst with CIBC World Markets, said a week ago that she imagined Ann Taylor would develop clothes for mature consumers that were more fashionable than those offered by other retailers in that space, namely Chico’s FAS Inc. and Coldwater Creek Inc. 

He has spoken — or not, as the case may be.
 
Michael Jeffries, the chief executive of high-flying trendy apparel chain Abercrombie & Fitch will no longer speak to analysts during quarterly earnings conference calls.
 
“As our company continues to grow, the demands on Mike Jeffries, our CEO, become more and more increasing,” said Chief Financial Officer Mike Kramer during the second-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday. Kramer said Jeffries’ time was better served focusing on growth initiatives, a new store concept and international expansion.
    
The news from the notoriously tight-lipped company did not sit too well with some on Wall Street, though most completely ignored it in their analyst reports on the company.
 
One who did not was J.P. Morgan’s Brian Tunick who began his report thus: “Despite the news that Chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries could not find four hours per year to talk to investors, we again walked away impressed with Abercrombie’s ability to profitably execute its growth plan despite the third consecutive quarter of negative comps.” 
    
Another analyst, who declined to be named, told Reuters the news was not surprising. Still, he added: “It’s not optimal, given that he is the merchant leader of the company. It would be nice to hear from him once a quarter.”

Said another: “The Street’s not liking that.” 

Sure, CEOs are busy, and sometimes can’t make a scheduled call. McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner has missed three quarterly earnings  calls since becoming CEO at the end of 2004, for example. But in making the absence standard, Abercrombie now joins the ranks of retailers such as Gap, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Walgreen, which at one time or another in their histories have had CEOs routinely absent from quarterly conference calls.
                                                 
In Abercrombie’s case, seems like if you sell the coolest jeans and tops around to hordes of teenage fans around the country, you’re allowed to stay mum.

The trickle of cautious comments are turning into a chorus, as more U.S. retailers are warning that the second half of the year will be a difficult one. 

Last week, Wal-Mart talked about its customers running out of cash. This week, Target said it was planning more cautiously for the second half of the year. And today, Ross Stores said it was also cautious — in part simply because other retailers were cautious.

What does this mean for the holidays? Right now, it seems like retailers are trying to cut back on inventory so they won’t be forced to cut prices to move unsold goods. It also means selective shoppers may be even pickier — buying only the hot items and then waiting for supersales to buy the rest. Read more here.

It may only be back-to-school season but it might also be time to brace for the most wonderful time of the year.

Consumers may be pressed by rising mortgage defaults and food and fuel prices, but they are still replacing their washing machines when they break down, according to LG Electronics.

The electronics leader said on Tuesday it captured the top U.S. market share position in front-loading washing machines during the second quarter, based on dollar values. The data is from a report by the Stevenson Company, a market research firm.

Front-load washers, which (surprise!) open from the front, typically use less water and energy than the more traditional top-loading machines.

John Herrington, president of digital appliances for LG’s U.S. arm, said in an interview that while the new-home appliance segment was pressured by falling sales, the replacement market is alive and strong.

“Appliances fail, and that is the majority of appliance sales in the U.S.,” Herrington said. “We are primarily positioned to serve the replacement market.”

When consumers buy new appliances, they are showing a willingness to  pay more for new features, he added.

For instance, sales of a $1,500 LG washing machine, equipped with a steam generator have been strong, Herrington said.  LG makes front-load washers in colors such as midnight blue, wild cherry, as well as the mainstay white (pictured).
    
Here are other snippets from the interview:

Q. Have you had to offer promotions or other discounts to sell goods lately?
A: The product is out at the retailers and they are promoting and driving their businesses as they see fit. But no, we are not overly promotional in our efforts in the laundry category right now.

Q: Is LG working on a high-efficiency top-loading washing machine?
A: Yes, we’re studying all high-efficiency ideas.

Why might Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, be feeling so much pain from the downturn in the U.S. housing market?
 
Here is one consultant’s thoughts:
 
“Wal-Mart is in many ways the Ellis Island of American retailing,” said Craig Johnson, president of retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners, in an interview. He said that often, new immigrants go to Wal-Mart in the United States because the retailer, which has extensive operations in Mexico, is familiar.

“Very heavily, the new immigrants come to shop (at Wal-Mart) because they’ve heard the name,” he said.
The  problem is that many of these recent immigrants operate heavily in a cash economy, he said, and they disproportionately work in the U.S. housing, construction and home-improvement trades.

So, as fewer houses are built in the United States, fewer housing-related workers are needed, and that means fewer dollars are going into the pockets of Wal-Mart shoppers — hence the comment last week by Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott that its shoppers are running out of money by the end of the month and Wal-Mart de Mexico reporting earlier this month that its same-store sales fell 2 percent in July.

“That impact, in terms of retail spending, falls disproportionally on Wal-Mart versus some of its other competitors,” Johnson said of the ripple effects that the slowing housing market is having on Wal-Mart’s business.

Another top U.S. retail executive confirmed on Monday that the stock market see-saw does not appear to be throwing off the high-rollers.

“I see the prestige market intact. I don’t see the slowdown,” said Coty Inc. Chief Executive Bernd Beetz in an interview with Reuters. “Right now, I cannot complain about the market.”

Luxury buyers seem to have sailed through sharply higher gas prices, a housing market slowdown and the recent worry about tightening credit markets. 

But you’ve read all about that already.

For Coty, though — with brands backed by A-list celebrities like Calvin Klein, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer “J-Lo” Lopez – there’s no slowdown as of now, Beetz said on Monday.

His comments come after handbag company Coach Inc’s Chief Executive, Lew Frankfort, said last week that he wasn’t seeing the luxury customer applying the brakes. Neither did the CEOs at Saks or Blue Nile, about two months ago.  In fact, during the past quarter, one customer bought a single jewelry item worth for more than $1.5 million from online diamond retailer Blue Nile. 

What credit market crunch? Gas costs how much?

Is it finally happening? After six months of talk, is Wild Oats being gobbled up by Whole Foods?

Not yet.

The companies only agreed to wait until noon on Monday before Whole Foods would buy Wild Oats shares, unless the U.S. Federal Trade Commission got a stay.  It did.  Now we’ll have to wait until at least Thursday afternoon to see what happens next.

Oh, and in case you were wondering what the deal’s architect thinks of the latest blow, keep waiting. Whole Foods CEO and co-founder John Mackey still can’t post on his blog.

Gulp. Does cable pioneer Dr. John Malone plan to do for beauty what he has done for media? A story in Women’s Wear Daily’s Web site on Wednesday had us asking the question.

A Liberty Media spokesman confirmed that Malone’s Liberty Interactive, which owns the QVC shopping network has taken a minority stake in Borba, a “cosmeceutical” company that makes drinkable and topical skin care products.

Is the good doctor finally living up to his title? Is a takeover of whoever makes cubic zirconium in the cards?

Well…maybe.

Liberty Media’s Jonathan Orr clarified for us why Malone, who spent a career building and selling cable and media empires, now has turned his attention to beauty. Orr drew parallels to Malone’s strategy at TeleCommunications Inc. (TCI), once the biggest U.S. cable operator:

“Borba is a cosmeceutical company that is carried on QVC. Much like TCI used to carry cable programmers on its cable systems and there would be great value creation in those programmers, QVC is carrying Borba on its systems and we believe that we will create value in Borba. Through a minority investment of an undisclosed amount, we believe we can participate in value creation in Borba that will result in them being carried on QVC. It’s not really about getting into the cosmeceutical business. Our stated goal has been to participate in some of the value creation through investments in some of the brands carried on QVC. This is really the first bite of that apple.”

In a side note, it also turns out Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan, the same guy who took on News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch to bid for Dow Jones, also holds a small stake in Borba. Murdoch, as you recall, agreed to buy back Malone’s big stake in News Corp in exchange for News Corp’s controlling stake in DirecTV. Small world.

(Photo: Borba.net)

     Mattel Inc. , the largest U.S. toy company, launched a national advertising campaign today in the hopes of assuring its customers it is on top of product safety. Of course, the ad ran the same day Mattel announced the recall of millions more toys.

The full-page ad appears in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal,  New York Times and USA Today and includes a letter from Mattel Chief Executive Bob Eckert.
    
Here is the full text of the ad:     
     

Dear Fellow Parents, 
    
Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. As a father of four, I share your focus on providing only what’s best for them. As you may know, we’ve voluntarily recalled some toys for two different reasons: the impermissible use of lead paint and risks associated with small high-powered magnets.
    
I want to be sure that every parent hears about these issues quickly, returns affected toys to us, and knows that we have already taken steps to further ensure the safety of our toys. Please visit mattel.com/safety/ where you can learn about the affected toys, what we’ve done, and to find answers to your questions.
    
Our long record of safety at Mattel is why we’re one of the most trusted names with parents. And I am confident that the actions we are taking now will maintain that trust.
    
You have my personal commitment that we are working extremely hard to address your concerns and continue creating safe, entertaining toys for you and your children.
     
     Sincerely,
    Bob Eckert
    Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
    Mattel, Inc.

  Earlier this month, Mattel’s Fisher-Price unit recalled about 1.5 million preschool toys made by China-based contract manufacturer Lida Toy Co. that included products based on popular preschool characters from “Sesame Street” and “Dora the Explorer.” 

The recall was Mattel’s largest since 1998, when it recalled some 10 million Power Wheels vehicles made by Fisher-Price.

(Post updated after Mattel’sd latest recall.)

Seems like Wal-Mart attracts controversy all over the place — even on social networking web sites.
 
Last week, the world’s largest retailer set up the “Roommate Style Match” group on Facebook, a social networking site that has millions of college age users.
 
Wal-Mart hoped the group would help it attract a larger chunk of back-to-school shopping dollars.  (Click here for a Reuters story. For a take by a Forrester blogger, click here.)

But the group has also attracted a share of Wal-Mart detractors.  (The names of the posters are the ones they use on Facebook and the excerpts were copied directly from Facebook.)
 
“Small business was hurting our economy for too long!” wrote Daniel Waddington. “I only wish I could super-size the trade deficit along with my fries! No Job? De-valued dollar can’t cover my rising interest rates? At least I saved a nickel on a picture frame!!”
 
A post by Dave Haack said, “Unionize Wal Mart Give wal mart workers a Union and save america. Then every one can shop there and people who work there can earn enough to live !”

Wal-Mart did have some defenders on the site. For example,  Connie Bensen lauded Wal-Mart for its charitable contributions. 
“Wal-Mart just opened a store last week in my community. They donated $33,000 to community organizations. $5,000 of that came to my library for literacy! We welcome the new store & the shopping opportunities!”
 
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the company was happy so many of its customers were visiting the Facebook site. 
 
“We recognize that we are facilitating a live conversation, and we know that in any conversation, especially one happening online, there will be both supporters and detractors,” spokeswoman Jami Arms said in an email message to Reuters.

– Reuters photo from Wal-Mart 2007 annual shareholder meeting