Retailer Circuit City Stores is expecting digital imaging products to drive sales this Mother’s Day, and is planning to offer consumer training in the use of such items.

The retailer said a U.S. survey it commissioned of more than 4,000 mothers showed that nearly 38 percent would opt for a digital camera, camcorder or photo frame as a gift.

Flat-panel TVs, navigation systems and video games also scored high as wanted items. Only 16 percent of respondents indicated they would not want an electronics product as a gift.

“Mother’s Day is like our second Christmas,” said Steve Deason, head of the retailer’s digital imaging merchandising team.

People are looking for new ways to store pictures for the longer term, sparking rising popularity of portable hard drives and digital photo frames, Deason said. But he added that many people buy these newer imaging products without knowing how to use them.

To help, the retailer is planning to hold demonstrations on the use of digital frames in its stores on May 4, and will begin offering a free training session with the purchase of a digital single lens reflex camera.

(Logo: Circuit City)

Consumers with a taste for luxury are not only scaling down their purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, but are also cutting back on furnishings and decor.

Morgan Keegan cut profit estimates for Ethan Allen Interiors  this week, saying it could be the next victim as a spending pullback takes hold at upscale furnishings companies.

“Home related spending is weak and we are now seeing signs that the typically resilient high-end consumer is pulling back on discretionary spending on furnishings,” analyst Laura Champine said in a research note.

Already, bedding maker Tempur-Pedic has warned that U.S. sales are weak, while Williams-Sonoma noted noted one of the most challenging macro-economic environments in 30 years, Champine added.

Ethan Allen has generally fared better than its furniture peers but rising costs for raw materials, energy and freight are weighing on the sector, Champine said. She cut her third quarter profit estimate for the company by three cents a share to 49 cents, and lowered her full-year estimate by six cents. The company’s fiscal year ends in June.

(Photo: Ethan Allen Website)

Check out rising profit at General Mills

The maker of Cheerios cereal, Green Giant vegetables and Yoplait yogurt said cost cuts and worldwide demand aided results in its third quarter. Sales rose 16 percent in both its snacks and baking products divisions and 14 percent for Yoplait.

Still, not all is rosy in this challenging economic environment. General Mills expects higher input costs in the current quarter and said it plans to invest in consumer marketing to help drive sales.

Also in the basket:

Bargain hunters help Ross Stores

Dillard’s faces more shareholder pressure

(Photo: General Mills image library)

Check out a brewing tussle at Office Depot

The office-products retailer is fighting back one shareholder’s attempt to nominate two directors to replace both its current and former CEO on the board.

Shareholder Woodbridge Group said it planned to nominate an ex-president of Office Depot and and a former president of rival Staples as board members in hopes of revitalizing the retailer, which has been bruised by the economic slowdown that has led small business customers to cut back.

It’s yet one more hurdle for Office Depot, which disclosed last month that it faces a regulatory probe into allegations that it made phone calls to analysts last year warning that weak economic conditions were hurting sales.

The retailer is urging its shareholders to vote down the dissident board nominees. Stay tuned.

Also in the basket:

US Treasury Secretary sees economy in ’sharp decline’

Reebok to pay $1 million fine over lead jewelry

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out Walgreens’ push into health services

The drug store chain took a big step toward expanding beyond its retail business by announcing it planned to buy two health-care companies, publicly traded I-trax and privately held Whole Health Management.

The retailer has created a health and wellness division to manage health centers and pharmacies at worksites. Walgreen already operates consumer clinics in some of its stores, but now it sees a big opportunity to help companies lower their health costs.

“The story here is growth,” CEO Jeffrey Rein said.

Also in the basket:

Mattress maker Tempur-Pedic forecasts profit drop

Hard times for consumers threaten food companies

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out new offerings for men from DKNY.

Fashion House Donna Karan International reached a licensing deal with Liz Claiborne to create a new line of men’s sportswear for the United States and Canada.

The collection, to include knits, trousers, blazers and coats, will be targeted to the “better” segment, with articles priced from $59.50 to $595. It will be available in department stores in fall of this year.

The move will help the fashion house named for Karan (pictured) reach a wider audience as other designers such as Vera Wang have partnered with retailers on clothing lines.

Also in the basket:

Nike finds problems at China factories

AnnTaylor reports quarterly loss

(Photo: Reuters)

There are no brick-and-mortar stores to walk in, but Montgomery Ward is back–as an online and catalog retailer.

Revived in 2004 as a direct marketer, Montgomery Ward sells more than 50,000 items on its Web site and through catalogs. It is counting on its name recognition in the department store business to lure consumers who want to buy apparel, jewelry and home furnishings.

Founded as the world’s first mail-order business in 1872, Montgomery Ward operated more than 500 U.S. stores in its heydey before competition and declining sales forced it into bankruptcy in 1997. The last of its retail stores closed in 2001.

Direct Marketing Services Inc, a catalog marketer headed by David Milgrom, bought the Wards trademarks in 2004 and gave the brand new life on the Web.

Now, the company is looking to spread the word with marketing gimmicks such as a current “Tell a Friend About Wards and Win” promotion. This month, customers can register at www.wards.com/friend to get a chance to win a $100 gift card.

“Customers are happy to see that Montgomery Ward is back,” Milgrom said.

(Logo: Montgomery Ward)

Check Out rising February sales at McDonald’s

U.S. shoppers may be eating out less, but they are still finding time to grab coffee and sandwiches at McDonald’s.

The world’s biggest fast-food chain said sales at stores open at least 13 months gained 11.7 globally in February, and its shares rose on the news.

Europe, where sales rose 15.4 percent, led McDonald’s growth in the month. The Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region had same-store sales growth of 10.9 percent.

Sales rose 8.3 percent in the United States, better than many analysts expected amid the slowing economic environment. Investors had become cautious when McDonald’s reported flat U.S. same-stores sales in December andblamed severe winter weather for the disappointing result.

McDonald’s said February’s extra leap year day boosted sales by about 4 percentage points.

Also in the basket:

Adidas shares up on talk of Nike interest

U.S. wholesale inventories rose in January

(Photo: Reuters)

Wal-Mart is going green — and the retailing behemoth says its new metro Atlanta outlet shows how it will build stores that are more friendly to communities and the environment.
 
    Built at the site of a vacant mall in an area targeted for urban renewal, Wal-Mart says the new store will bring more than just money, a.k.a. greenbacks, to the neighborhood.
    
    The new outlet has water and energy-saving features that include low-flow toilets and refrigerated food displays with motion sensors that turn LED lights on when customers approach and off when they leave. 
 
    Executives say the store, which is shaded by green awnings, is the first to feature an al fresco dining area. Trees pepper the property, which has access to a football stadium. 
    
    Wal-Mart in the past has been criticized for gobbling up unused land for its so-called “big box” stores and for other practices that have exacted a toll on the environment. For instance, U.S. environmental regulators penalized the company in 2004 for violations of the Clean Water Act.
    
    Arkansas-based Wal-Mart unveiled its plan to cut environmental waste and reduce greenhouse gases a few years ago, and this year said it would build more energy-efficient stores. The company has said its future goal is for stores to use only renewable energy and to create zero waste.
    
    “I really believe our business now looks through green-colored glasses,” said Michael Mills, a regional director of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart. “Sustainability drives everything that we do.” 
    
    Executives said the new store’s softer, less warehouse-like feel is intended to be friendlier to shoppers.
    
    For instance, small kitchen appliances are displayed on lower counters (shown in picture) as opposed to being stacked on high shelves.
    
    The location is also one of eight U.S. Wal-Marts that have mini-room displays featuring Canopy furniture, a new private label product line that also includes bedding, bath accessories and dinnerware.  
 

(Photo: Wal-Mart)

Check out retailers’ best performance since November

Led by spending at Wal-Mart and other discounters by consumers looking to save, U.S. retailers turned in a 2 percent overall same-store sales gain for February. It was the best monthly performance since November, said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics.

The world’s largest retailer posted a 2.6 percent gain in February same-store sales, ahead of expectations.

The teen clothing retailers also saw strength. Aeropostale sales rose 7 percent.

Still, investors might not want to celebrate yet. Department stores and apparel retailers struggled as consumers tightened their wallets. Even the high-end sector is not immune, as Nordstrom sales fell 5.8 percent.

Will Spring bring better sales? We can at least hope.

Also in the basket:

Home foreclosures reach record highs

January pending home sales unchanged

(Photo: Reuters)