Check out America’s famous twins at it again.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the former child actresses turned fashion designers, are launching a new juniors’ sportswear and accessories line for J.C. Penney.  The travel-themed line is called Olsenboye, with each collection highlighting a new city.

The mid-priced line features clothes, shoes and handbags priced from $20 to $50.

Fashion is not new for the sisters, who were television stars from infancy and grew up to have a quirky bohemian style.  They currently have high-end lines, such as The Row, which sells at Bergdorf Goodman, and Elizabeth and James, which sells at Neiman Marcus.  They even once had a line of girls’ clothes at Wal-Mart, though it no longer exists. 

Items from the new line will be available for a limited time in select JC Penney stores and online starting Nov. 6, with a full launch set for spring 2010.  Let’s see if it lasts longer than the line at Wal-Mart.

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(Reuters photo)

Check out the growing J.C. Penney-Macy’s rivalry.

Liz Claiborne’s plan, announced last week, to sell its namesake sportswear only at Penney stores and on a TV shopping network will end a decades-long tie between the Claiborne franchise and Macy’s.

The deal will give Penney more exclusive products, guarantee revenue and profits for Claiborne and free up Macy’s to better differentiate itself as its customer base increasingly overlaps with Penney’s, analysts and consultants said.

Macy’s has traditionally been positioned as a little higher-end than Penney, but the 2005 merger of Macy’s owner Federated Department Stores with May Department Stores broadened the customer base and brought the company into more direct competition with Penney, analysts said. Penney, meanwhile, has been expanding its reach into Macy’s territory.

Department stores like Macy’s and Penney have beefed up their exclusive label offerings to woo shoppers to their stores and reduce competition centered on price. 
 
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(Reuters photo)

Check out the quarterly losses reported by J.C. Penney and former teen darling, Abercrombie & Fitch.

Penney reported a net loss of $1 million, or nil per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $117 million, or 52 cents per share. Analysts on average expected a loss of 1 cent per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The loss was bigger over at Abercrombie.

The clothing retailer recorded a net loss of $26.7 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a net profit of $77.8 million, or 87 cents a share, a year earlier.

Penney has fashioned itself as a value destination in the downturn, and said on Friday that it sold more merchandise at regular promotional prices and less at clearance prices. Shoes and women’s clothing were the strongest sellers, while children’s apparel sales were weakest.

Abercrombie, which has been reluctant have its name associated with value, faced sliding sales, higher markdowns and increased costs in the quarter.

As the economic downturn has deepened, teenagers are overlooking its high-priced fashions and turn to rivals with cheaper prices like Aeropostale or Forever 21. Abercrombie has slowly begun to discount or lower the starting ticket prices on some items to address the consumer aversion to high prices in the downturn.

The company said it remained on track to open three international flagship stores in fiscal 2009, including two stores in Milan and one outlet in Tokyo.

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(Photos: Reuters)

Check out the expected lower spending on back-to-school items.

Parents plan to spend less money on back-to-school gear for their children this year in another worrisome sign for retailers heading into what is normally their second biggest selling period behind Christmas.

The average family with children in kindergarten through 12th grade is expected to spend $548.72 on back-to-school merchandise this year, down 7.7 percent from 2008, according to the National Retail Federation.

Retailers can take some heart, however, as college students and their parents are expected to boost spending 3 percent to buy the latest pricey electronics and dorm-room decor. Of course, total college spending is expected to fall 4 percent as fewer attend college.

Retailers are taking action to deal with such pressures as department store operator J.C. Penney is launching a website for teens to drive back-to-school sales.

And there are some positive signs of a modest recovery.

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(Reuters photo)

Check out the ten largest U.S. retailers.

The National Retail Federation’s STORES magazine is out with its annual ranking of the top 100 retailers.

The list shows that U.S. consumers have been focused on bargains and basic necessities, such as food and medicine.  Wal-Mart tops the lineup, followed by Kroger and Costco.  Home Depot fell from No. 2 in 2007 to the fourth spot in 2008 as many shoppers decided to cut back on costly home-improvement projects.

Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears Holdings were the only members of the top 10 to see their revenue fall in 2008.

Some other rankings that may interest you: Amazon.com is the 19th largest retailer, ranking higher than well-known chains such as J.C. Penney, 7-Eleven and Gap.  Apple’s stores and iTunes combined hold the 40th spot, topping chains such as Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble.

The companies were listed by annual revenue, which may include estimates for private or closely-held companies.  Revenue from major non-retail operations were excluded when possible.

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(Reuters photo)

Check out a government report showing that U.S. consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in May after an upwardly revised flat reading in April.

It was the first gain in spending since February, as government stimulus pushed incomes higher.

“Probably the increase in personal income was due to the increasing transfer payments coming from the government right now as you’re starting to see some of the stimulus kick in,” said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research.

“But right now what you have to look at is, though consumption is positive, it’s kind of a tepid rebound versus the huge bounce back everyone was expecting. So we have to see if this is stabilization.”

Meanwhile, personal income in May surged 1.4 percent from April as social benefit payments included in the government’s massive economic stimulus jumped. The stimulus provided for one-time payments of $250 to people receiving Social Security, supplemental security income and other benefits.

But much of that stimulus money has not yet been spent. The data showed the savings jumped to a record annual rate of $768.8 billion — the highest level since records began in 1959. The saving rate climbed to 6.9 percent, the highest since December 1993.

“The rise in consumption was normal, but the rise in income was abnormally high because of government payments to people with the stimulus and social security, etc,” said Richard Hoey, chief economist at Mellon Financial Corp.

“You’re going to get a lot of commentary about the super-high savings rate, but the reason the rate was high was because of this abnormal burst of income at a rate that is clearly unsustainable. The rise in the savings rate isn’t reflective of any behavioral phenomenon in the consumer. It is a one-month burst in income.”

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(Photo: Reuters)

Deciding where to spend the remainder, if any, of this month’s paycheck?

J.C. Penney is making its case for why you should be heading to its stores.

At the department store chain’s annual analyst meeting in New York, Penney discussed the steps it is taking to win consumers’ hearts (and their money).

One of the steps highlighted: A chance for its rewards program customers to meet country music band Rascal Flatts, which recently topped U.S. pop album charts with its album called “Unstoppable.”

The band, which is being sponsored by Penney on a “Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour”  will promote Penney’s American Living brand.

Penney moved its meeting from Plano, Texas, to New York City this year, saying it knew what tight budgets at Wall Street firms have done to analysts’ travel plans. To make them feel good, the retailer handed out CDs of Rascal Flatts’ Unstoppable album at the meeting venue. 

(Photo/Reuters)

Check out J.C. Penney trying to save people money.
 
Not shoppers mind you — but bankers.

The company has canceled its annual analyst meeting at its headquarters in Plano, Texas. Seems the recession has hurt many firms’ travel budgets.
 
But not to worry — J.C. Penney will come to New York to meet with analysts instead! 
 
Of course, the story Penney has to tell isn’t the greatest one right now. Profit fell 51 percent in the key fourth quarter, and the company expects a deeper loss in the first quarter than Wall Street expected.
 
But at least the analysts get to stay home (well, the ones based in New York) and Penney executives get out of Plano!
 
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(Photo: Reuters)

The financial crisis of the past two months has rocked retailers, and many are now planning to hire fewer seasonal workers and roll out promotions earlier than planned to try to salvage holiday sales, according to a recent survey by the Hay Group.
 
The human resources consulting firm conducted an informal survey in September with 20 of the top American retailers, including Best Buy, JC Penney, Costco, and Macy’s to get a glimpse into their plans for the holiday season.

The group then ran the survey again this month to find out how those plans may have changed given the recent financial crisis. Here is what the they found: 
 
Holiday Sales  

• In September, 60% of participants were planning on an increase in sales  
• In November, 38% are expecting a decrease of 5-15% and 29% are expecting the same level of sales

Store Promotions 
 

• In September, 45% indicated they would run the most store promotions on Black Friday, 45% indicated they would run consistent promotions from mid-December to January, and 13% indicated they would run the most after Christmas.  
• In November, 33% indicated they’d run the most store promotions on Black Friday, and 57% indicated they’d run consistent promotions from now until New Year’s   
  

Staffing 

• In September, 75% were planning to hire the same number of seasonal workers 
• In November, 53% are planning to hire the same number of seasonal workers, and 26% are planning to hire 5-15% fewer workers.    

Seasonal Staffing Incentives  

• In September, 76% of participants indicated they will offer a discount for seasonal workers  
• In November, only 56% of participants indicated they will offer discounts to seasonal workers 

 Additional Findings from November Survey 

• 50% of participants will run promotions earlier this year than last year 
• 43% are running more promotions/deeper discounts in response to the economy  

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out disappointing September retail sales

Many U.S. retailers posted worse-than-expected sales at stores open at least a year on Wednesday, and some cut their profit outlooks and said things won’t improve anytime soon as consumers remain shaken by the financial crisis, job worries and the housing slump.

Discounter Wal-Mart Stores and warehouse clubs managed the best sales performances in September as shoppers sought bargains on necessities. Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, stood by its third quarter earnings forecast.

Apparel retailers and department stores were particularly hard hit, and even luxury chain Neiman Marcus said consumer demand will stay weak for an extended period. Kohl’s, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom cut quarterly profit forecasts.

The results could further subdue expectations for the 2008 holiday season, expected to be one of the weakest in recent years.

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(Photo: Reuters)