Top retail trade group upgrades holiday forecast. NEW YORK (AP) -- With the final Christmas countdown begun, the nation's largest retail trade group has upgraded its holiday sales forecast reflecting growing optimism that much more spending is to come. The National Retail Federation said Thursday it now expects holiday sales for the November and December period to rise 3.8 percent to a record $469.1 billion. That's up from its more modest 2.8 percent forecast made in early October when the economy's health looked more uncertain. The new forecast is hardly stellar. The projected gain is still below the 5.2 percent pace seen during the holiday 2010 season from the prior year, but it's well above the 2.6 percent average increase over the past 10 years.
And any upgraded forecast is good news as stores look to the final days before Christmas to rope in holiday shoppers. The figures in the NRF report exclude automotive dealers, gas stations and restaurants. Social Trends. Library Access to Restricted Resources. JCPenney Internet sales up in first quarter. May 16, 2011 JCPenney Co. reported May 16 that its Internet sales increased 6.6% to $376 million in the first quarter of 2011, compared with Q1 2010. The Plano, Texas-based company's first quarter net sales increased 0.4% year-over-year to $3.94 billion, and net income increased 6.7% to $64 million in the quarter.
Web sales were driven by “strong performances coming from men's and children's apparel and women's accessories,” said Myron Ullman, chairman and CEO of JCPenney, during an earnings call. “The Internet business is gaining momentum, and we're confident in our ability to deliver an incremental $1 billion in sales by 2014.” Michael Dastugue, JCPenney's CFO and EVP, said the company is “feeling confident in our long-term strategies and our execution is better than ever before.” “This is driven by the continued success of our growth initiatives; comparable store sales increased 3.8%,” he said. Q1 2011 operating income increased 3.9% to $161 million, compared with the previous year. JCPenney.com has it 'all inside' with $1B revenue stream | DSN Retailing Today.
In Search of..... - TV.com www.tv.com/shows/in-search-of Narrarated by Leonard Nimoy, In search of was a 30 minute syndicated show that covered a wide range of paranormal topics. It pioneered a lot of the methodology that ... Search Engine - Download.com download.cnet.com/s/search-engine search engine free download - GSA Search Engine Ranker, Nomao - The personalized search engine, Zoom Search Engine, and many more programs Google Search - Download.com download.cnet.com/s/google-search google search free download - Google Search, Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer, Google Search, and many more programs Star Search - Episode Guide - TV.com www.tv.com/shows/star-search-2003/episodes Star Search episode guides on TV.com.
Can JC Penney Capture Customers With its New Approach? - JCP, KSS, M, MSO. By Chris Moore - January 26, 2012 | Tickers: JCP, KSS, M, MSO | 4 Chris is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited. JC Penney’s (NYSE: JCP) new CEO Ron Johnson has a lot resting on his shoulders. JCP shareholders expect him to revolutionize the company’s flagging sales and to bring some of the magic that has spurred Apple’s retail stores into an enviable position. Johnson is the former Apple retail executive who, in conjunction with visionary Steve Jobs, built Apple’s impressive retail presence.
He’s also the same guy who helped revamp Target’s sales, offering cheap but well designed housewares. Penney’s major competitors, Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) and Macy’s (NYSE: M), have steadily gained in sales efficiency, posting average sales of $194 per square foot and $171 per square foot, respectively. Johnson revealed his plan Wednesday and it is nothing if not ambitious. JCPenney Powers Up Mobile for Holiday. New Mobile Initiatives Bring Style, Quality and Compelling Prices Directly to Customers’ Fingertips Just in time for the important holiday shopping season, JCPenney has launched new innovative mobile initiatives, including a mobile commerce site, location based check-in offers, enhancements to its mobile apps, and an exciting mobile experience via Apple®’s iAd platform.
Building on the Company’s successful mobile coupon program, these new mobile initiatives bring the retailer’s style, quality and compelling prices directly to customers’ fingertips. “As new technology continues to deploy in the marketplace, we are constantly on the forefront, investing in the latest opportunities to reach our customers,” said Tom Nealon, group executive vice president of JCPenney.
“We have always been committed to offering relevant shopping experiences to our customers. About JCPenney Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: News - JC Penney reveals customers' show of support for Ellen DeGeneres. Poor One Million Moms. All they wanted to do was have JC Penney banish Ellen DeGeneres as company spokeswoman – what with her being gay and all. Instead, the rightwing activist group has provoked an online backlash in support of both the department store and the chatshow host, with one JC Penney employee saying the company "would prefer not to have" the type of customer who would be offended by DeGeneres's appointment.
A "shop-in" is now being planned at JC Penney stores on Sunday, while the company has received calls and emails in support of its refusal to comply with One Million Moms' demand that it replace Ellen DeGeneres. The fervour began when One Million Moms posted an article under the heading "JC Penney offends traditional families again" after the company announced DeGeneres would be its new spokeswoman. "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the article said. News - Macy’s Fight With Martha Stewart May Foretell More Legal Clashes: Retail. When J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) announced in December that it had cut a deal to carry Martha Stewart-branded home goods in its stores, it didn’t take Macy’s Inc. long to say: Wait a minute, Martha. More than five years ago, Macy’s signed its own exclusive contract to sell bedding, towels, dinnerware, cookware and the like from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.
Under the terms, Martha Stewart Living isn’t allowed to sell such wares at a Macy’s competitor, including J.C. Penney, Macy’s says. On Jan. 23, Macy’s, the second-largest U.S. department store chain, sued Martha Stewart Living in New York State Supreme Court, seeking to stop the deal and collect damages. Martha Stewart Living, which has until Feb. 13 to respond to the lawsuit, will argue that the deal doesn’t violate the contract because it will operate its own stores inside J.C. Incremental Gains Darcie Brossart, a spokeswoman for J.C. Macy’s, which is based in Cincinnati, has outperformed J.C.
Lucrative Merchandise Close Open For J.C. News - ACKMAN: In The Future, Going Into A JCPenney Store Will Be Like Going Into An Apple Store (JCP) Macy's Inc. News. Macy’s C.E.O. Gives Up Title of President By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS Macy’s announced that its chief merchandising officer, Jeffrey Gennette, would become the company’s new president, taking a title the chief executive held until Monday. April 1, 2014, Tuesday Identity Theft Hits Home: The Aftermath By MOLLY WOOD Store-branded credit cards are not terribly difficult to acquire. February 12, 2014, Wednesday Balloons Fly Low, but Parade Delights By SARAH MASLIN NIR There were early concerns that the winds would exceed the city’s limit for flying balloons, so marshals for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ordered tethers kept short.
November 29, 2013, Friday Planning for the Arrival of Cinderella By JOHN LELAND For Bill Schermerhorn, creative director of Macy’s Parade and Entertainment Group, work at this time of year continues even on a day of rest.
12 retail real estate trends to watch in 2012 | Kimco Realty Blog. There are several factors anchoring our thinking as to how 2012 will play out for the retail real estate market. We look at the market trends that have shaped and are continuing to shape the industry, the economic climate domestically and abroad, as well as activity happening in our portfolio and the trends we’re seeing among our tenants.
With that in mind, here’s our outlook for retail real estate in 2012, and what we think retailers and investors will have on their radar this year: 1. Retail development will continue to be slow. This naturally will be driven by the continued stagnancy of the housing market. However, we can expect to see some small developments as the economy continues its recovery, such as single-tenant structures, small grocery-anchored centers, and development of available land in infill locations. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Taken together, we believe these factors portend a sturdy year for retail real estate. What does 2012 hold from your perspective? Five Black Friday Trends That Will Impact Retailers - Executive Style. Black Friday, so named because it was the day retailers hoped to get “in the black” for the fiscal year, is now just as linked to the color of the sky when it all begins. Shoppers emerge before dawn—and this year, even earlier—to seek out jaw-dropping deals. But technology has changed the way consumers shop on the day after Thanksgiving too. Here are five trends to watch for. Skipping the Checkout Line During the busy holiday season, two out of three consumers find it valuable to have more associates on the sales floor instead of doing other front-of-store tasks, such as staffing checkout lanes, recent research conducted by the NPD Group for NCR Corp. found.
Apple, often a leader in retail trends, has already added an "easy pay" option that allows iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S users to scan the barcode of an accessory while in a store, and complete the transaction using the same credit card information tied to their Apple ID. Can J.C. Penney succeed like Target and Apple? Now that J.C. Penney has announced a radical overhaul of its approach to retail, the question is: Will customers buy it? Penney's new CEO, Ron Johnson, is rolling out a simplified pricing plan that aims to wean customers off sales and convince them that she store's prices are always rock bottom. He says prices will be slashed by 40 percent, and for the most part that's where they'll stay.
That's a big change from the current strategy, which involves literally hundreds of sales every year. Johnson has a great track record. He's the retailing mastermind behind the Apple retail stores as well as Target's transformation into "Tar-zhay" - the store's partnerships with upscale designers that made it chic to be cheap. The challenge for J.C. Behavioral economists have found that people have trouble judging the appropriate value for a given item. An experiment at MIT showed that this effect, called "framing," is so powerful that even random numbers can cause people to pay more for an item. Jcpenney CEO on Ellen DeGeneres controversy. Jcpenney is trying to rebuild its customer base with help from a new spokeswoman, Ellen DeGeneres. But a group called One Million Moms is accusing the company of "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon. " DeGeneres responded to the group on her TV show Wednesday, saying, "I'm happy about (being the spokesperson), jcpenney is happy about it.
But there's this group called One Million Moms that is not happy about it. And normally I try not to pay attention to my haters, but this time I'd like to talk about it because my haters are my motivators. This organization doesn't think I should be the spokesperson because I am gay. So for those of you tuning in for the first time, I'm gay. I hope you were sitting down. ... In a statement last week, jcpenney said it stands behind its partnership the talk show host. "We don't look at it like a controversy. Court: Calif. gay marriage ban unconstitutional jcpenney CEO brings lessons from Apple Video: jcpenney customers to get best prices year-round.
JC Penney CEO brings lessons from Apple. JCPenney Circles the Wagons Before Even Hearing Investor's Ideas. Last Updated Oct 20, 2010 1:13 PM EDT Managers at JCPenney (JCP) have responded with speed to the news that activist investor William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management had stealthily bought up more than 16 percent of the department-store chain's shares. Their defensive moves seem a bit hasty, given that they have yet to hear any of Ackman's ideas for improving results. There's always a chance they could be useful.
Within days of Pershing's ownership disclosure -- and the news that it might team up with another big shareholder, retail real-estate player Vornado Realty (VNO) -- the company hired Goldman Sachs as an advisor and adopted a "poison pill" provision which will make it difficult for Pershing to acquire more shares. JCPenney said the day of Pershing's disclosure that the company had set a meeting in 10 days with Ackman. It seems like these maneuvers could have waited until after the meeting. Ackman reportedly wanted to wheel and deal in Target's real-estate portfolio. J.C. Penney investors cheer for Apple retail head as new CEO. By Matt Krantz and Scott Martin, USA TODAY Updated 6/14/2011 10:06 PM | Shares of J.C. Penney flew off the shelves Tuesday as investors applauded the company's coup in luring away Apple's retail head to be its new CEO. Matt Slocum, AP Matt Slocum, AP J.C. Johnson, 52, goes to J.C.
The pop in J.C. "Seventeen percent — that's a huge reaction," says Steve Kaplan, professor of finance at the University of Chicago. Johnson is widely credited with transforming Target's curb appeal on low-cost design. J.C. Hiring a promising CEO isn't always a home run. Johnson will receive a 2011 base salary of $1.5 million and could earn a bonus of that much or more if he meets certain financial targets. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. Investor Relations - Stock Quote & Stock Chart. Investor Relations - Company News. JC Penney News & Latest JC Penney Headlines - DailyFinance.com.
J. C. Penney Company News. J.C. Penney slashing prices on all merchandise in new strategy. NEW YORK – J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores. Penney (JCP) said Wednesday that it is getting rid of the hundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach to pricing. On Feb. 1, the retailer is rolling out a three-tiered strategy that offers "Every Day" low pricing daily, "Monthly Value" discounts on select merchandise each month and clearance deals called "Best Price" during the first and the third Friday of each month when many shoppers get paid.
The plan, the first major move by former Apple executive Ron Johnson since he became Penney's CEO in November, is similar to Wal-Mart Store's (WMT) iconic everyday low pricing strategy. The difference is that Penney's goal isn't to undercut all competitors, but rather to take the guesswork out of shopping by offering more predictable pricing. Here's how Penney's pricing strategy will work: The New Strategy At JCPenney Is A Bad Read Of Its Customers. J.C. Penney's new strategy includes major markdowns. What to Expect: J.C. Penney’s New Pricing Strategy. Investor Relations - Annual Reports & Form 10-K. Why J.C. Penney Will Be The Most Interesting Retailer Of 2012.