Check out how generic drugs cut into June pharmacy sales at Rite Aid.

The No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain said its pharmacy same-store sales fell 0.5 percent, as generic drugs were introduced and allergy medicine Zyrtec was switched to over-the-counter status.

Generic drug rollouts hurt rival Walgreen as well. That company said a day earlier those drugs cut into its pharmacy same-store sales by 2.1 percentage points. 

Drugstores, in general, have been facing more competition from grocery stores and discounters like Wal-Mart, which have been offering discounts on a slew of prescription drugs.

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Adidas eyes 6,300 stores in China by 2010

Blockbuster may do Circuit City deal later (New York Post)

Circuit City faces tough road but Chapter 11 not near

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out the quarterly profit at Kroger Co.

The largest U.S. grocery chain posted a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, thanks to its emphasis on lower prices and gasoline discounts – music to its shoppers’ ears and higher sales for itself.

“Kroger continues to help customers stretch their budgets in a number of ways, including lower prices and our expanded generic drug and gas discount programs,” chief executive David Dillon said in a statement.

The price cuts, he said, were helping Kroger’s customers save $1 billion annually, at a time when shoppers deem every last dollar precious, as they face skyrocketing prices for necessities such as gasoline.

Kroger also raised its outlook for the full year, based on the strength of the results from the reported quarter.

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ConAgra sees higher than expected fourth quarter profit

Dollar Tree recalls 470,000 China-made glue guns

Williams-Sonoma is trimming its catalog mailings (WSJ - subscription needed)

 J.C. Penney Faults Fake Ad on YouTube (WSJ - subscription needed)

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out the quarterly results at Walgreen, one of the largest U.S. drugstore operators.

The company posted a 2 percent increase in quarterly profit, amid a weak U.S. economy and slowing growth in sales of prescription drugs —  in the reported quarter, Zyrtec was switched to over-the-counter status.

And a slower-than-usual flu season — (good for you and me) – wasn’t so good for Walgreen. The company also pointed to the milder flu period for a slowdown in prescription drug sales volume in the quarter.

The company said it is on track to beat its goal of opening 550 new drugstores this year — and perhaps even come to the rescue of cash-strapped shoppers in the process.

“We’re adding neighborhood locations for today’s customer who is searching for value and struggling with high gas prices,” President Greg Wasson said in a statement on Monday.

As of May 31, the company operated 6,727 store locations in 49 states, but will be in all 50 states when it opens its first Alaska stores in 2009.

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Bunge to buy Corn Products for $4.4 billion

Costco plans Australia foray to challenge duopoly

Busch family member backs ’strong’ Anheuser Busch

Jones Apparel takes stake in Asian partner

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out more news from the Anheuser-Busch front.

The company, which owns half of Mexico’s Groupo Modelo, said Modelo’s chief executive Carlos Fernandez resigned from Anheuser’s board, even as the American beer company tries to thwart an unsolicited takeover bid from Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev NV.

Modelo is an important player here — it has been approached by Anheuser about a possible combination, according to the Wall Street Journal, while Reuters’ sources, who are familiar with the situation, have said that InBev also courted the Mexican company.

Separately, Anheuser also said that it will acquire the remaining 50 percent stake of the Crown Beers India Ltd joint venture from partner Crown International.

Crown International and Anheuser formed the Crown Beers India venture last year to distribute Budweiser and Armstrong, a beer developed specifically for India, throughout southern and western India.

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InBev: US Anheuser breweries to stay after merger

EU raids detergent firms on suspicion of price fixing

Retail companies mull tactics ahead of holidays

Trying to hide price hikes with trends, fabrics

Clothing makers see fashion in color, detail

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out Pier 1’s sudden offer to buy Cost Plus for $88.4 million in stock, just as the home decor retailer is trying to cut its own losses from previous quarters by shutting stores, cutting jobs and  spending less on marketing.

Pier 1  said it would issue 0.6 shares of its common stock for each Cost Plus share outstanding. The Texas-based company believes it can seal a deal in the third quarter.

Pier 1’s chief executive officer Alex Smith thinks Cost Plus is an “excellent” fit and that a deal would improve Cost Plus’ s operating margin due to synergies with Pier 1 in areas like store operations and shared services.

From its end, Cost Plus, which sells home furnishings and gourmet food, said it would meet with its financial and legal advisors to review the proposal.

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McDonald’s May same-store sales up 7.7 pct

Sotheby’s shares rise on revenue forecast

Goody’s files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Herbalife rebuts lead claims

U.S. gasoline rises above $4 a gallon for first time

From WAGs to watches: luxury’s soccer pitch

(Photo: Pier 1 Web site)

Check Out lower quarterly results at Neiman Marcus — the latest in a string of results proving that high-end stores are running into the same trouble as their lower-tier peers.  

The company, known for its namesake and Bergdorf Goodman stores, said on Wednesday that quarterly sales fell almost 1 percent to $1.06 billion, while net profit fell nearly 7 percent to $55.4 million.

Less than a month ago, upscale department store operator Nordstrom reported lower profit and sales, citing a challenging retail environment — a sign that luxury retail, considered more insulated from economic volatility, may not be fully immune, as rich but increasingly wary consumers witness skyrocketing gasoline and food prices, and plummeting homes values.

Even Saks reported a lower-than-expected profit last month, as markdowns hurt gross margins.

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Smucker to buy Folgers from P&G for $3 billion

Williams-Sonoma posts lower quarterly profit

Corporate Express to open books for Staples bid: paper

U.S. retailers expected to post scant May sales

More U.S. retailers victims of organized crime - survey

Kingfisher aims to revive B&Q in tough markets

(Photo: Reuters)

(Note: Neiman Marcus results links to release on Business Wire)

Check out Staples’ higher offer for Corporate Express.

The U.S. office supplies retailer offered to buy the Dutch company for $2.65 billion – up from its previous unsolicited offer of about $2.34 billion — even as Corporate Express is trying to fight off the takeover bid with a bid of its own.

The Dutch company said in May that it would buy French rival Lyreco for about $2.2 billion, creating the largest business-to-business distributor of office supplies in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

On Tuesday, Staples raised its offer, contingent on Corporate Express shareholders rejecting the Lyreco bid. Corporate Express said it would carefully review Staples’ offer and respond in due course.

Analysts think the U.S. retailer’s bid might bear fruit this time around, although Corporate Express could still try to delay it.

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Anheuser-Busch hires financial advisers

U.S. chain store sales fall 0.8 percent last week - ICSC

Walmart.com offers free classified ads

(Photo: Reuters)

No, really. That is what Tiffany executives must think, looking at the sea of tourists at its fabled flagship store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

Eclipsing a 4-percent drop in same-store sales in its other stores, the New York store posted a 16-percent rise.

Thanks to those tourists, U.S. same-store sales in the quarter for Tiffany didn’t slip into the red.

The jeweler, best known for its classic designs and the robin-blue box, is now thinking that its U.S. sales will start to look up later than expected, and is, instead, looking to markets like Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, other than Japan, for good fortunes.

A company spokesman said sales grew at most price points — right from $500 to $50,000 and above with no meaningful differences. Only items selling below $500 experiences some softness, Mark Aaron said.

The company says brand new items are in the making — those will range from diamond jewelry in its Metro collection and additions to its Swing and Victoria collections. There will also be new charms, including ones in platinum and diamonds in various design motifs. 

Just as well. David Schick of Stifel Nicolaus thinks shaky economic times might actually sway people’s thinking in Tiffany’s favor.

“I think Tiffany’s brand and the classic design is also perhaps coming into vogue.  Perhaps the uncertainty out there in the world is helping people look towards Tiffany as ‘there is a classic value in buying Tiffany jewelry’,” he said.

(Photo: Reuters)
 

Sears Holdings Corp reported a quarterly loss this morning. But the thing that left analysts like Credit Suisse’s Gary Balter scratching their heads was the company’s expectations for higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the full year.

“We are struggling with what we are missing in the context of Q1 being down over $385 million in EBITDA and other comments in the release that talk about the expected difficult sales and gross margin environment,” Balter said in his research note.

Sears said sales fell about 6 percent to $11.1 billion in the quarter. Total U.S. same-store sales were down 8.6 percent as the appliance, lawn, garden and apparel segments languished.

Balter described the second half of the past year for Sears as an “unmitigated disaster” with very high inventories, and expenses that pointed to sales levels that were not reached.

Noting that Sears was already a lean company, Balter said that its latest EBITDA plans implied expense declines of  over 14 percent — which to him, doesn’t seem a viable option unless, he said,  ”the company is planning for even lower service levels and liquidating the company.”

For the quarter, Sears said selling and administrative costs rose 6 percent. The Illinois-based retailer, which has reorganized into five types of business units, and has boosted spending in some areas.

The other alternative to achieve higher EBITDA, Balter said, could include gains on asset sales which he didn’t think would solve Sears’ longer-term issues.

And Sears didn’t seem to be helping him understand any of this  — Balter said in his note that ”there is no one at the company to contact.”

Can someone at Sears, please…?

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out quarterly results from retail companies, including Sears, Costco, Heinz and Big Lots.

Markdowns? No good for Sears. The company, controlled by Eddie Lampert, posted a surprise loss, hurt by discounts and floundering sales at its Kmart and namesake stores.  Immediate respite is not in sight, Sears said, as consumers juggle higher gasoline and food prices.

But discounts on the right products can mean good fortunes. Costco, for instance, reported a 32-percent jump in profit, thanks to consumers who sought deals on items like food and gasoline. Big Lots, which sells excess inventory, also posted higher profit, thanks to strong sales at stores open at least two years.

Ketchup-maker Heinz benefited from price increases and a weak U.S. dollar and is now hoping for higher annual earnings fueled by growth in emerging markets and health and wellness items.

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Genesco profit up on settlement gain

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U.S. first-quarter GDP growth revised to +0.9 percent

Food prices to stay high as biofuels blamed