Check out Macy’s cutting the flow of information.
 
The department store chain operator said Tuesday that it will no longer report same-store sales on a monthly basis, going against the industry standard for providing that information to analysts and investors.
 
Of course, they could just be adhering to the old saying from our mothers: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
 
Macy’s has posted declines in same-store sales in four of the past five months and is forecasting that measure to be down 1 percent to up 1.5 percent for the current fiscal year.
 
To give Macy’s the benefit of the doubt, we note that at least one other department store operator also does not report monthly sales: Sears Holdings. Of course, same-store sales have fallen at least seven straight quarters at both its Sears and Kmart units.
 
Some retailers in specific segments also only report quarterly sales, including electronics retailers Best Buy and Circuit City and home improvement retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot. Aside from Best Buy, those other retailers have also been posting lackluster sales.
 
Macy’s did not say in its quarterly earnings press release why it had decided to not report monthly sales.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Home Depot expects lower profit
 
Office Depot profit falls sharply, expenses climb
 
Heinz quarterly profit hit by higher tax rate
 
Target quarterly profit falls 

(Photo: Reuters) 

Nike, meet Levi. Levi, meet Nike. Nike’s Jordan Brand and Levi Strauss & Co are teaming up with a co-designed collection to hit stores March 1.

Named after Jordan’s best-known Chicago Bulls number and the Levi jeans, 23/501 purports to capture “the harmonious union of these two iconic and innovative brands.”

The limited-edition collection pairs co-branded Air Jordan Retro 1 style sneakers with a pair of Levi’s Original, button-fly 501 jeans and a signature T-shirt. Graphic artwork fuses the “iconic” images that we know and love from both brands.
    
Retailing as a set for $395, the items are displayed in “innovative” packaging, something the companies promise will be a collector’s item.

But if you want to save some money, there’s nothing to stop you from going out and buying a pair of 501s, a pair of Air Jordans, and maybe a T-shirt sans the iconic images … did someone say Fruit of the Loom?

Check out the slumping U.S. housing market refusing to give Lowe’s a break.

The retailer reported lower quarterly profit on Monday and forecast full-year earnings below Wall Street estimates.

Quarterly earnings fell 33 percent to $408 million from $613 million a year earlier, while sales edged down to $10.38 billion from $10.41 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key retail gauge known as same-store sales, fell 7.6 percent.

Lowe’s, the second-largest home improvement retailer behind Home Depot, also pared its store growth plans for the year. 

“We know the next several quarters will be challenging on many fronts as industry sales are likely to remain soft,” according to Lowe’s Chairman and CEO Robert Niblock.

The results don’t bode well for Home Depot — the industry leader is expected to report lower quarterly results on Tuesday. 

Also in the basket:

Wal-Mart sees China productivity beating inflation

Meatpacker in Cow-Abuse Scandal May Shut (WSJ, subscription required)

P&G to cut about 15 percent of management staff: media reports

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out top U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy boosting its bets abroad to offset bad business conditions at home.

Last week, Best Buy cut its full-year outlook, citing a softer U.S. economy.

But it remained ambitious in its expansion plans, aiming to increase the number of its stores in China by about 20 percent to as many as 193 in its 2009 fiscal year, which ends on March 1 next year.

In an interview with Reuters, Bob Willett, chief executive officer of Best Buy International, said Best Buy intends to invest substantially and open a large number of stores in China in the next five years. He also said it will launch online sales in the country in the next 24 months.

Willett also denied Chinese media reports that the retailer was in talks on a possible share swap with GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings, China’s top electronics retailer.

“(We are) not in the process of having any talks with GOME or other Chinese retailers on cooperation,” he said.

The new stores Best Buy plans in China include 20 to 25 Five Star stores and five to eight self-branded stores. All new Best Buy-branded stores will be based in or around Shanghai, where the company opened its first and only such store in China in early 2007.

Best Buy, which bought a majority stake in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co in 2006, will boost its ownership of the company to 100 percent by the end of 2010 as part of the purchase agreement, Willett said.

Best Buy is also looking to expand into new markets such as India, but has no concrete plans yet, Willett said.

Also in the basket:

Starbucks cuts 600 jobs amid stagnant U.S. growth

Soccer-Nike to replace Adidas as France sponsors

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out J.C. Penney surprising itself and Wall Street with a profit drop that wasn’t as bad as expected.
 
But wait, hold the immediate cheer. 
 
Sales fell in the quarter, and the mid-tier department store operator was able to post better-than-expected results by offsetting that drop by tightening its expenses. 
 
The company, like many other retailers, has seen sales taper off as shoppers, wrestling with higher living expenses and declining home values, make fewer trips to stores.
 
As consumers remain hard-pressed for cash, Penney doesn’t see any solid signs that the consumer environment will change any time during 2008.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Nestle price rises help 2007 profits
 
Zale profit lower as sales take a hit
 
Safeway quarterly profit lower
 
Anheuser, Miller face probe on caffeinated drinks
 
(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out investors bailing on cash-strapped electronics retailer Sharper Image Corp after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following three straight years of losses.

Its stock plunged to a lifetime low after the company announced it only had $700,000 in cash on hand.  According to court documents, Sharper Image said it had $251.5 million in assets and $199 million in debt as of Jan. 31.

Things have gotten so bad for Sharper Image that many of its vendors and suppliers have taken to requesting cash upon delivery of products, court papers show.

But the company isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.

Sharper Image is seeking a $60 million loan arranged by Wells Fargo Retail Finance LLC to keep operating, according to court papers. And it replaced Chief Executive Steven Lightman with Robert Conway last week.

Also in the basket: 

Wendy’s CEO hopes new items will spur sales

TJX shares rise after higher profit, outlook

Sony wins format war, but real battle lies ahead

Heineken avoids 2008 forecast, shares drop

(Photo: Reuters)

There’s no denying that the cost for that gallon of milk has jumped in the past year and that chunk of cheese is, well, taking a bigger chunk out of your wallet.

So when it comes to winning sales in an inflationary environment, where it is nearly impossible to avoid raising prices to offset higher costs — even for discount king Wal-Mart – Wal-Mart’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said the key to winning sales is “relative.”

“I would tell you that the most important things is relative price,” he said.

That means that Wal-Mart, well-known for holding the line of prices, may not have been able to avoid charging its shoppers more for grocery items like bread and milk.

But to stay true to its mantra “Save Money, Live Better”, Wal-Mart is competing by raising its prices, but making sure its prices on key items are still cheaper compared with its competitors — it is keeping them “relatively” cheaper.

So do price hikes have its U.S. shoppers overlooking brand name food items in favor of cheaper private labels? Not necessarily, Schoewe. Here again, it is all relative.

Instead of avoding brand names, he said shoppers are coming to Wal-Mart to seek them out, hoping them can find them at Wal-Mart for prices that are “relatively” cheaper than at competitors.

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out penny-pinching U.S. shoppers helping push Wal-Mart to a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Cash-strapped U.S. consumers, who have been enduring falling home values and rising grocery and energy bills, turned to Wal-Mart’s discount stores for low prices on necessities like food.

The world’s largest retailer has cut prices in a bid to win sales in a tough economic environment, and Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said the company is well-positioned to succeed in the current climate.

“They’ve got a lot of consumable items, like groceries, so they’re going to drive traffic and maybe get additional traffic because of this environment.”

Also in the basket:

Staples in $3.7 bln offer for Corp. Express

Fossil 4th-qtr profit rises; forecast above view

Consumers seen shrugging off big beef recall

Steven Madden profit down, but buyback lifts stock

Foodmakers squeezed by costs, strapped consumers

(Photo: Reuters)

    The obesity crisis in the United States — land of milk, honey and fast food — has now gone global, and one company may stand to benefit.
    
    Weight Watchers International wants to bring its weight-loss services to China’s upwardly-mobile millions, who have embraced bad eating habits, American-style, as their pocketbooks have become increasingly middle-class.
    
    The company recently signed a joint venture deal with French food company Groupe Danone, which brings “extensive knowledge of the China marketplace and the Chinese consumer” according to a recent press release.
    
    Weight Watchers has disclosed few details about its launch into China, and declined an interview request with Reuters, but the joint venture will be 51 percent owned by the weight loss company, and 49 percent owned by Groupe Danone.
    
    A management team is already in place and retail operations are expected to begin within the next year.
    
    But Chief Executive David Kirchhoff, in an earnings call with analysts on Thursday, predicted that Weight Watchers won’t spend more than $5 million on its China plans this year.
    
    Kirchhoff, in the same call, suggested that the move to China was a calling.
    
    “Obesity is becoming a real issue in China and we have an opportunity, and I feel an obligation, to provide lifestyle-based solutions for that market,” Kirchhoff said.
    
    Pressed for details by analysts, Kirchhoff cited concerns about competition — wait..how big is this market again? — but offered a few crumbs.
    
    “I would say the concept we’re focusing on on would most closely resemble the primary business we’re in, which is helping people lose weight, as opposed to having a primary focus on licensed products,” he said.

As rejections go, this one borders on the deranged.

Not only has the biggest retailer on Earth drop-kicked the HD-DVD format by deciding to stop selling its movies or players, Wal-Mart blogger Susan Chronister, a buyer in the movies category at the retailer, tells shoppers just what to do with those soon-to-be relics.

From Wal-Mart's blog:

So... if you bought the HD player like me, I'd retire it to the bedroom, kid's playroom, or give it to your parents to play their John Wayne standard def movies, and make space for a BD player for your awesome Hi Def experience. I am probably going to surprise my husband with BluRay player for Father's Day, so please don't tell him!

John Wayne movies in standard def!! We'd personally hang on to them for a future (20 years, perhaps) payout on eBay.

In case you weren't sure if Toshiba still had a prayer for its format after Warner Bros, Netflix and Best Buy dumped the format, today's news might clear things up.

HD-DVD, meet the MiniDisc.