Check out the unexpected increase in September same-store sales at U.S. retailers.

Providing hope that demand may be improving ahead of the holiday shopping season, retailers posted a surprise 0.6 percent increase last month in stores open at least a year, instead of the 1.1 percent decline analysts had expected.

And International Council of Shopping Centers sees October same-store sales even with a year ago. TJX Cos, which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, cited strong momentum heading into October.

“The consumer is dipping their toe back into the discretionary waters right now, but just their toe,” said Retail Metrics President Ken Perkins.

Among the retailers posting better-than-expected results were Aeropostale, Kohl’s, Children’s Place and American Eagle Outfitters. Many others posted declines that were not as weak as expected.

While this year’s later Labor Day holiday pushed a good chunk of sales from August into September, analysts had wondered if rising unemployment would weigh more heavily on spending.  However, sales of clothing for the back-to-school season fueled many retailers’ performances, and the number of U.S. workers filing jobless claims fell more than expected last week.

But the economy is not out of the woods yet. Holiday spending could be further constrained by consumer aversion to debt, as total U.S. consumer credit posted a deeper-than-expected drop in August, suggesting consumers are opting to cut debt rather than spend.

Also in the basket:

Liz Claiborne in exclusive deal with J.C. Penney

PepsiCo profit tops expectations

Barnes & Noble sees same-store sales decline

Marriott beats estimates on summer demand

(Reuters photo)

National Hockey League teams put the freeze on ticket prices this season.

The average price for general tickets in the NHL ticked up just 0.1 percent to $51.41, according to Team Marketing Report (TMR), a sports marketing firm that tracks ticket costs in the major North American sports leagues. After adjusting Canadian prices to current exchange rates, the average cost of a ticket rose by just 5 cents.  

In the previous three years, the average NHL ticket cost rose 5.1 percent (2008-2009), 7.7 percent (2007-2008) and 3.7 percent (2006-2007), TMR said.

Fourteen teams kept prices unchanged from last year and six saw their averages decline, according to TMR.

Meanwhile, the average Fan Cost Index (FCI) – the cost of a family of four to attend a game — rose 1.7 percent to $301, TMR said. The FCI includes the cost of four tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two game programs and two caps.

The average premium ticket is $118.63, TMR said.

The recession has forced sports leagues to rethink prices as consumers cut spending on tickets as well as food and souvenirs once at an event. The National Football League has had to black out local broadcasts in some markets due to a lack of sellouts, while the cost of tickets in the secondary market for Major League Baseball first-round playoff games are down as much as 50 percent in some markets. 

In the NHL rankings, the highest average price belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs at $117.49, up 10.2 percent from last year, TMR said. The team’s FCI also is the highest at $585.87. The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins raised their prices 8 percent on average to $55.55.

Teams with double-digit percentage declines in average price were the Boston Bruins (off 10.5 percent), New Jersey Devils (off 15.9 percent) and the  Tampa Bay Lightning (down 16.5 percent), TMR said. The Dallas Stars had the lowest average at $35.66, a decline of 5.7 percent from last season, while the Lightning’s FCI was the lowest at $221.04, down 12.4 percent.

(Reuters photo)

Check out the better-than-expected profit at Walgreen.

The largest U.S. drugstore chain saw shares rise 10 percent as its fourth-quarter profit benefited from a make-over that includes sprucing up stores and cutting jobs.

Walgreen also announced a new plan to promote 90-day prescriptions available at its stores as an alternative to the mail-order programs favored by many insurance programs.

While sales rose 7.6 percent to $15.7 billion, the company, with 7,042 U.S. stores, has continued to see weak demand for general merchandise.

Also in the basket:

U.S. home prices up in July for third straight month

Starbucks debuts Via instant coffee in U.S., Canada

UK consumers tighten belts in face of GDP slump

Nestle mulls shift to ‘well-being’ company-chairman

(Reuters photo)

Check Out this slightly more optimistic holiday sales forecast.

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) said the 2009 U.S. holiday season is likely to be “a lot better” than last year, with sales rising roughly 1 to 2 percent.

The forecast, perhaps the most bullish yet, comes after a dismal 2008 holiday season that by some accounts was the worst in about 40 years.

Forecasts issued so far this year call for holiday sales to be flat to down versus last year, but some of those surveys use different methods for estimating sales.

The ICSC said holiday sales “in its many forms” — same store sales or total sales — could increase by about 1 percent to 2 percent, with sales at stores open at least one year rising 1 percent for the holiday shopping season of November and December.

Also in the basket:

Asian convenience stores ride the recovery

Zumiez raises Q3 earnings outlook

H&M signs Rykiel in latest high end venture

Gap co-founder Donald Fisher dead at 81

(Photo/Reuters)

   Who needs the runway when Goldfinger’s got your back?
   Fashion industry watchers wonder whether more designers will use Times Square’s neon signs as a virtual runway in the future, like Carmen Marc Valvo  did with his spring/summer 2010 show during New York Fashion Week. More to the point, will more designers follow his lead next time by asking the World Gold Council  and the Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. – or other financial markets players — to help foot the bill?

A Valvo spokesman says the cost was “about half” that of a runway show in the Bryant Park Tents.  The tab usually starts at $100,000 and can run $250,000 or more, depending on how many models and special effects are involved. This was perhaps the flashiest example of how designers, hit hard by the recession, are seeking more sponsorships to finance their New York shows than in the past. Check out this video of the Times Square show, which ran on the neon signs of Nasdaq, Thomson Reuters and Fox:
    
  Even with gold trading above $1,000 an ounce, that’s still less than what some of Valvo’s gowns go for at  Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
   The World Gold Council’s Duvall O’Steen said the group paid 10 models and other show expenses — the first time it’s taken such a high-profile role at Fashion Week. Check out this video as O’Steen talks about fashion and gold jewelry:

       In fact, the World Gold Council is getting more requests now for corporate event sponsorships than it can accommodate, O’Steen said. And it’s happening after a year when a drop in world gold mining production curbed its budget for such affairs.
        Bruce Aust, Nasdaq’s executive vice president of the corporate client group, also explains why the made its first foray into fashion:

     Michael Quintanilla, who covers fashion for the San Antonio Express-News and two other Hearst newspapers, told Reuters: “Times Square was the perfect place for a fashion show. With all that neon, it’s very ‘Blade Runner.’ I loved the format. You could drop in when you wanted, have a cocktail, talk to Carmen, see the clothes and leave, without being herded into a space like cattle and being forced to wait.”

         What’s next? DeBeers Presents Dennis Basso?

Reuters Photo by Yuriko Nakao

Check out consumers’ continued taste for private label items.

In the past 12 months, private label’s unit and dollar share of the U.S. market have grown, according to a report by research firm Information Resources Inc. Unit share grew 1.2 points to 22.8 percent, while dollar share inched up 0.7 points to 17.6 percent.

“The popularity of private brands will continue as a result of several factors,” IRI Consulting and Innovation President Thom Blischok said in the statement. “These products offer a very strong value proposition based on quality as well as price. In addition, shoppers will continue their frugal shopping patterns long after the recession ends. And, retailers’ increasingly sophisticated private brand strategies will attract a larger and more diverse shopper base.”

In many categories, private brands now are able to compete on quality as well as price, while retailers continue to increase the breadth and depth of their store brand offerings, IRI said.

Also in the basket:

Visa extends sponsor deal with NFL through 2014

ConAgra raises 2010 profit view

CarMax posts higher Q2 profit

Cadbury CEO Eases Talk About Bid From Kraft (Wall Street Journal)

Survey Finds Wealthy Less Keen on Luxe Category (WWD, subscription required)

(Reuters photo)

Check out Campbell Soup’s better-than-expected profit .

The world’s largest soup company posted operating earnings of 30 cents a share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

That was four cents better than Wall Street had expected, thanks to higher prices and increased sales of condensed soup and Prego pasta sauce as people ate at home more to save money during the economic slump.

Campbell, known for its soup in the iconic red and white cans, also forecast a stronger-than-expected  increase in earnings in the 2010 fiscal year.

In the past year, Campbell and most other food companies have raised prices to combat then-soaring commodity costs. 

But lower market prices could be on the horizon. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said mild weather aided in an expected record soy crop and near-record corn crop. The resulting lower prices will encourage milk and meat production, the according to the USDA.

Also in the basket:

Pernod Ricard execs cautiously optimistic

Fashion’s Secret Helpers (Wall Street Journal)

Penney’s Adds Own Contemporary Line (WWD, subscription required)

(Photo/Reuters)

After a much heralded “shift to thrift” during what has become the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression, diners are now saying they plan to spend less money at cheap fast-food chains and more at some pricier eateries like Darden’s Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, Chipotle and Maggiano’s Little Italy from Brinker. 

“Trading up is supported by fewer customers saying they’re ordering less expensive items, skipping beverages and choosing less expensive restaurants,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Larry Miller wrote in a client note. Miller regularly polls diners about their spending plans. 

“Confidence in the economy is improving and those planning to spend more at restaurants cited better job security and less need to save money,” said Miller, who added that consumer spending plans at Starbucks were also ”less bad.”

Are you trading up on food — or anything else — after trading down?

A worsening obesity epidemic and lingering recession have state and local governments scrambling for new streams of revenue — including taxes on soda and other sugary beverages.

That’s potentially bad news for the nation’s food and beverage industries, which are on the defensive as the battle rages behind the scenes.

If you watch TV, you’ve probably seen this ad from American Against Food Taxes, which is backed by the likes of McDonald’s and PepsiCo.

Nearly three dozen states already charge tax on sugary beverages. But, in most cases the tax is not high enough to curb consumption, said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center For Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University and author of “Food Fight.”

The Rudd Center’s Web site offers a calculator that shows the revenue a city or state could potentially generate with snack taxes — which are being eyed as funding for everything from public works projects to U.S. healthcare reform.

(Reuters photo)

Check out Consumer Reports’ latest taste test.

The magazine found that 23 store-brand foods tasted as good as or better than their big national brand competitors in blind tests of 29 food products.  The store-brand foods tested cost an average of 27 percent less than their big-name counterparts, allowing consumers to trim their shopping bills. 

“Our tests should erase any lingering doubts that store-brand packaged goods aren’t at least worth a try. In many cases, you’ll save money without compromising on quality,” Tod Marks, senior project editor for Consumer Reports Shopping, said in a statement.

“Today’s store brands are not the no-frills generics folks remember from the ’70s. They enjoy more prominent placement on shelves, snazzier packaging, more promotion, and, in general, higher manufacturing standards than in years past,” he added.

For example, Consumer Reports said its tasters preferred Archer Farms Chewy Soft Baked cookies (Target), Kirkland Signature Organic Medium Salsa (Costco) and Great Value Whipped Topping (Walmart) to similar products from Pepperidge Farm, Old El Paso, Betty Crocker and Kraft.

In the most recent supermarket survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center, 70 percent of respondents said they were highly satisfied with the quality of store brands.

Not every store brand finished on top in the survey, however. Tasters still preferred Ocean Spray Craisins, KC Masterpiece Original barbeque sauce, Oscar Mayer precooked bacon, Quaker Natural Granola Oats, Honey & Raisins cereal, and Kellogg’s Pop Tarts to the store brands.

Also in the basket:

Late Labor Day seen as pulling down August sales

Dubai’s Istithmar working on Barneys finances

Gander Mountain Q2 loss widens; shares fall

(Reuters photo)