Shop Talk

Beanie Baby maker tries again with presidential pooch

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

After pulling “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha” Beanie Baby dolls inspired by President Barack Obama’s daughters due to a complaint from First Lady Michelle Obama, toymaker Ty is selling a new plush toy inspired by the nation’s First Puppy — Bo.

Ty said its $4.99 Bo toy debuted on April 16 and sold out within hours of hitting store shelves. A portion of the sale proeeds will go to support animal shelters, the company said. Bo toys already are on auction on eBay, where one seller is seeking $2,050 for a set of “authenticated” Sasha and Malia Beanie Baby dolls. You can find other Beanie Baby retailers here.

The Obama’s search for a puppy entranced the nation and was one of Washington, D.C.’s most closely guarded secrets.

Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese Water Dog, beame an instant, international celebrity when the family introduced him to the world this week.

Coach head bullish on Obama

Coach Inc Chief Executive Lew Frankfort is optimistic about a future under Barack Obama. 

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Frankfort said he was confident the new  U.S.  president can help ease the minds of consumers, who spent much less on Coach bags and accessories during the 2008 holiday season than they did a year ago, leading the company to scale back expansion and lower prices.

“I think so much of how consumers behave is based upon their psyches, and there’s enormous fear that we don’t know where bottom is and that things can worse,” Frankfort said. “I have a lot of confidence that he (Obama) will instill programs and initiatives to give people confidence. He himself gives people confidence.”

Yet in light of the 5-percent stock market decline on Tuesday, the day Obama was sworn in as the 44th U.S. president, Frankfort cautioned that a real recovery in consumer sentiment will require actual improvements in economic conditions.

“Consumers are not going to feel better until the credit markets loosen up and the housing markets stabilize,” he said. “Consumer credit is still extremely tight. Credit availability has loosened up somewhat, both commercially and personally, but no one has a feeling that it’s systemic.”

(Photo: Reuters)

Memo to Obama: Help Housing

Home Depot is hoping that U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama will take actions that will help bring the housing market out of its years-long slump.

As recent as early September, the retailer’s top executive said the housing market may be nearing the bottom of its decline. But that was before the financial crisis and rising unemployment took a toll on consumer confidence.

Now, the world’s largest home improvement chain says it is not seeing the better trends it had expected and noted that some housing markets, such as the U.S. Northwest, have worsened compared with a year ago.

“We think it’s prudent to be cautious,” Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said in an interview this week after Home Depot posted better-than-expected third quarter results.

Though she didn’t give specifics on what the incoming U.S. president could do to aid the housing market, she expressed hope that Obama would do something.

“Anything the Obama administration can do for housing is certainly something we’d support,” Tome added.

She said rising unemployment now poses a major threat to consumers, who are cutting back their use of credit and paying more with cash.

Which fashionista are you endorsing?

In politics, appearance is everything. And for politicians’ wives, looking great for the cameras is key, whether its the Jackie Kennedy-influenced sheaths favored by Michelle Obama, or the bold, jewel-tone colors Cindy McCain sported at the GOP convention this week.

And for designers, having your outfits worn by a potential First Lady certainly can’t hurt. Witness the press (and extra sales) generated for Chico’s White House Black Market chain after Michelle Obama wore a black and white scoop-neck day dress from the retailer during an appearance on ABC‘s “The View.”      Chico’s could use the lift, given over a year of dwindling sales at its main chain that caters to women over the age of 40. Earlier this week, it announced an endorsement deal with Debbie Phelps, who it said wore its clothes the whole time she was in Beijing cheering her son, Olympic champion Michael Phelps.

Now, Wall Street is wondering who is next to endorse a brand.      “If Michelle Obama is boosting White House Black Market sales and Chico’s is paying Debbie Phelps to pose for its catalogs, doesn’t it make sense that Gymboree or Children’s Place hire Sarah Palin as spokesperson for their brands?” asked JP Morgan retail analyst Brian Tunick in his monthly “Tunick’s Top 10″ list to clients.

Other possibilities for Palin could be Uggs boots (it’s cold in Alaska), or Lenscrafters (a story on the candidate’s rimless, titanium pair that did not come from the lower-cost glasses chain ran in USA Today). 

Other suggestions?

(Photo: Reuters)