Check Out Altria Group’s $10.4 billion offer to buy UST Inc.

While rumors of the deal were reported last week, Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, issued its official offer on Monday to buy UST, the largest U.S. smokeless tobacco maker, for $69.50 a share in cash plus $1.3 billion in debt on Monday.  

Buying UST, which also owns Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, would be a quick way for Altria to reach into the growing smokeless tobacco market, as it seeks ways to diversify from the declining U.S. cigarette market.

But things aren’t that simple. While UST dominates the U.S. smokeless tobacco market, its main brands Skoal and Copenhagen are losing market share as people trade down to cheaper brands amid surging gas prices and a weak U.S. economy.

Price cuts is one way out for UST, according to some analysts, but others question if Altria will be able to do that.

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Adidas snags Russian football deal from Nike

Macy’s Launches Own Jewelry Line — WWD (subscription required)

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out what it costs National Football League fans to attend games.

The latest NFL season got under way Thursday night as the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants opened their season with a win (pictured right). For their fans, there were some changes that affected their wallets.

The average ticket price to attend an NFL game rose almost 8 percent to $72.20, according to Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-area sports marketing firm. And if a family of four wants to take in a game played by the Giants, get ready to shell out almost $500 for tickets, beers, hot dogs and other items.

The increases are de rigueur nowadays as the various North American leagues continue to report record attendance and revenues, but cracks may be starting to appear as some fans have begun dialing back spending amid high prices for gasoline and food, and rising unemployment.

As long as the market will bear it, however, fans of the NFL and other professional sports will have to budget for the increases if they want their game-day fix.

Also in the basket:

Altria in advanced talks to buy UST: source

Economic woes set tone for spring NY Fashion Week

Saks gets cold shoulder on Iceland buy (New York Post)

(Photo: Reuters)

Sparks flew at an investor conference when a male retail analyst asked Coach Chief Executive Lew Frankfort a question that has confounded men for ages — how many handbags do women really need?

Here’s the transcript from that exchange:

Analyst: What is the pantry load or the handbag inventory of most women? And what happens to older handbags? Obviously women pay quite a lot of money for them. I’m just wondering how many they keep… I mean, can there be a significant detriment to sales in the future, just because there are a lot of handbags in women’s closets?

Frankfort: Let me ask you, are there any women in your life that you might be able to ask how many handbags are too many? Most of us men in the audience know that women do spend, and we see it in all of our homes. In terms of how much is too much? It’s a theoretical question.

We also have a very large segment of America who do not own Coach bags, and we continue to bring new consumers in to our franchise at a very attractive rate, and what women tend to do with bags is they retire the bags. They go to a place deep into the closet, and they purchase a new one, and that’s the reality.  I’m not sure where you are traveling with your questions.

Analyst:  I’m traveling towards a consumer retrenchment and how people are going to retrench, and what their inventory of handbags may be for whenever the right occasion comes up. It’s — you know, we’re in uncharted (territory) here economically.

Frankfort: Everything is uncharted. Everything is empirical, starting with this very moment. What you need to do is make calculated bets based on what you know, and what you think. And if you are bearish on handbags, be bearish.

At that point, a female Coach executive cut in: I have never heard a man say, I am so sick of my black wallet, I need a red one. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard women say, I have to have this year’s red handbag.
So it’s a perceived need for a woman …  I have to say something as the woman at the table.

So, how many handbags (or wallets) do you have stashed away?

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out retailers’ profits and forecasts.

A discerning shopper, or investor for that matter, could browse the aisles of the retail financial world and come away with very different messages on the strength of the U.S. economy depending on which company’s results they chose.

On the plus side,  upscale jeweler Tiffany posted a better-than-expected profit and raised its full-year outlook, although that was driven by strong sales overseas. Tiffany expects U.S. same-store sales to return to growth in the fourth quarter. Shoe and hat retailer Genesco, and home-appliance and consumer-electronics retailer Conn’s also topped Wall Street’s views and boosted their forecasts.

For the pessimists out there, Williams-Sonoma saw its profit fall and it cut its forecast, while Sears Holdings also fell short of expectations amid the weak housing market.

Somewhere in the middle was discount store operator Fred’s, which reported a profit in line with what analysts were expecting.

Retailers have been hit in varying degrees as consumers dial back discretionary spending due to the pressure from high food and gasoline prices. Even as the U.S. economy grew stronger than first thought in the second quarter, economists see growth slowing as the year progresses.

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Genesco posts better-than-expected profits; ups views

Williams-Sonoma profit falls, forecast cut

Sears Holdings profit falls short

Fred’s Q2 profit in line with market estimates

Michael Kors (but You Knew That) (New York Times)

(Photo: Reuters)

Soon, Signet will move its primary stock exchange listing to the New York Stock Exchange and may attract more investors to an already strong base. Signet who, you ask? They are known best as the operators of the Kay Jewelers chain and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry stores in the United States.

For Signet, sales trends in the United States are a bit different from those in the United Kingdom, according to the company. Predictably, U.S. sales peak around the year-end holidays, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, though British shoppers are not keen jewelry buyers for the latter two holidays . Also, U.S. consumers are more into buying anniversary jewelry and upgrading engagement rings throughout the year. In the UK? Not so much.

These days, the greatest difference between jewelry brands may be the shopping experience and not necessarily the value of the diamonds their customers covet. (Of course, you need cash to buy those earrings, to begin with.) 

If you have a few thousand in hand and could do with an upscale, luxurious shopping experience, walk into a Tiffany or Harry Winston store. If those dollars are sparse, but you still want to try on those earrings before buying them, there are the Kay and Zale stores for you. But if you want that peaceful, easy feeling, (i.e. spend zilch on gas and avoid crowds) – open a new Web page and shop online. 

Online shopping has become critical, even for jewelers. But not all of them have realized the importance of an inviting Web site. Tiffany has revamped its Web site. Blue Nile, on the other end, has no stores and sells its jewelry purely online. 

Signet? About 55 percent of their stores are in malls, while their online retail sales are not significant, according to the jeweler. The company is still seeing its shoppers head to stores for baubles and they are willing to pay a premium for in-store service.

Signet derives about 75 percent of its sales from the United States and has a strong investor base here — explaining the primary listing move to the NYSE, scheduled to take effect on Sept. 11. The company  intends to keep a secondary listing in London.

(Photo of eclipse: Reuters)

In a  bid to stretch shrinking grocery dollars, U.S. consumers are shunning restaurants for home-cooked meals, clipping coupons, scouring grocery store flyers for deals and consolidating trips to save gas.The U.S. Agriculture Department has warned that 2008 could bring the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years. If shoppers’ words match their actions, it seems that frugal will become the new fashion.

Roughly 80 percent of respondents to a recent survey said they planned to continue those penny-pinching ways even after the economy turns up and they have more coins jingling in their pockets, according to retail consulting firm Precima, which commissioned the online survey that polled more than 2,000 U.S. consumers.

Half of the consumers said they cut back on frozen dinners, while more than 40 percent said they nixed chips, cookies and dessert items like ice cream and cake when money was tight.

Beer, wine and spirits fared only slightly better — 40 percent of respondents said they stopped buying booze to save cash.

Still fewer people — nearly one-third of respondents — said they were already trading down from national brands to lower-priced store brands.

“Despite the challenging economy, consumers are very reluctant to switch brands to save money,” said Brian Moss, Precima’s general manager.

No wonder big packaged food companies like Kraft and Kellogg can raise prices.

(Photo: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)

Check out darkening consumer sentiment in the month of May.

According to the latest results of NPD’s Fast Checks Study: Consumers Speak Out On the U.S. Economy, in May, 58 percent of consumers said we are in a recession, up from 55 percent in April.

Respondents to the survey said they are planning to spend less on items like apparel and footwear. With vacation season getting underway, 49 percent of consumers said they plan to cut back on leisure travel. 

A greater percentage of consumers also said they are spending less because they need to put money toward essentials, such as gas and utilities.

“Consumers are finally starting to react to the price of gas and other rising costs and are shifting shopping intentions.” according to NPD’s Marshal Cohen.

“Overall, in the past month, a 5 percentage point increase was seen in survey respondents who tell us they are going to do something different by taking advantage of promotions/events such as store sales, coupons, and discount or membership programs.”

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French fashion king Yves Saint Laurent dies

As Wal-Mart turns around, investors eye second act

Pinched Consumers Scramble for Cash (WSJ: Subscription required) 

(Photo: Reuters)