March 22 at 6:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Pharmaceuticals,
Retail,
Updated
By Bruce Japsen
The pharmacy of a Walgreen's store in New York. (JB Reed/Bloomberg)
Buoyed by an increase in the number of prescriptions it fills, Walgreen Co. this morning reported a 10 percent increase in its second-quarter profits.
The Deerfield-based drug store giant said earnings grew to $739 million, or 80 cents a share, compared to $669 million, or 68 cents a share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28. Revenues rose 8.9 percent to $18.5 billion.
Still, the price of Walgreen Co. shares fell $2.76, or 6.6 percent, to $39.21 a share on Tuesday because some analysts were unhappy with the company’s profit margins and higher expenses in the quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses jumped 8 percent in the quarter to $4.1 billion. Get the full story »
March 22 at 4:28 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Retail,
Technology,
Updated
By Reuters
Apple Inc. will stick to plans to roll out its newest iPad on Friday to 25 more markets, including France and the United Kingdom, even as it fails to meet the high demand for the gadget in the United States.
In affirming its international plans, Apple did not provide any hard figures for U.S. sales since the newest iPad, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras for video chat, was introduced March 11. Prices start at $499. Get the full story »
March 22 at 3:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Retail,
Updated,
Work culture
By Reuters
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will urge the U.S. Supreme Court next week to reject the largest class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit in history, brought by female employees who seek billion of dollars.
The top U.S. court hears arguments March 29 in a suit against the world’s largest retailer for allegedly giving women less pay and fewer promotions at 3,400 U.S. stores since late 1998. Get the full story »
March 22 at 11:07 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Line up seven women, and at least one likely has a covert pair of shoes she bought but didn’t tell her significant other about because they cost so much.
But oh, shoe shopping certainly makes many women happier. The average American woman owns at least 17 pairs of shoes, though many women have three times that many.
Such are a few of the shoe insights that ShopSmart magazine found in their survey of 1,009 American women, offering something of a window into the female mind, or at least their credit card statements. Get the full story »
By Julie Johnsson
The former Carson Pirie Scott building on State Street. (Heather Charles/Chicago Tribune)
Carson Pirie Scott’s corporate parent is suing Joseph Freed and Associates, accusing the developer of breach of contract for missing a $3 million payment promised to the retailer for exiting its flagship State Street store in 2007.
McRIL LLC, an entity associated with Carson parent Bon-Ton Stores Inc., claimed in a lawsuit filed Friday in a Chicago federal court that Freed and One South State Street LLC missed the final payment of a $22 million lease termination fee that was due March 1. Get the full story »
March 21 at 6:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Associated Press
A Zippo brand watch. (Zippo)
Zippo lighters are still so retro cool that the company expects to produce its 500 millionth lighter when the northwestern Pennsylvania company celebrates its 80th anniversary next year. But, Zippo Manufacturing Co. officials say increasing pressure on folks not to smoke means the company’s future depends on its ability to sell something other than lighters.
That’s why the company in Bradford is planning an expanded line of products from watches to cologne that it hopes to sell through kiosks and Zippo-brand specialty stores. It hopes those will begin popping up later this year overseas and in select U.S. locations. Get the full story »
March 18 at 12:48 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By CNN
Nike shares took a drubbing in early trading Friday after the athletic wear maker’s executives said they would raise prices across the board in response to increased costs. Get the full story »
March 17 at 6:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail,
Taxes
By Associated Press
Amazon dropped its Illinois business affiliates last week. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The Illinois commerce department will try to find new partners for businesses that previously sold products through Internet retailers like Amazon.com and Overstock.com. Amazon and Overstock plan to drop Illinois-based affiliates this spring to allow them to avoid collecting sales taxes under a new law that applies to Internet businesses that team up with Illinois partners. Get the full story »
March 16 at 11:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Packaged foods,
Retail,
Updated
By Clout Street
Wal-Mart will open two more stores on the South Side next year, city officials and the giant retailer announced today.
A store with a grocery and pharmacy will open at the corner of 76th Street and Ashland Avenue in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, said Ald. Latasha Thomas, 17th, said in a news release.
March 16 at 10:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Real estate,
Retail
By Kathy Bergen
Forman Mills Clothing Factory Warehouse will open its first store in Chicago tomorrow in a former Goldblatt’s Department Store site at 1450 N. Cicero Ave.
The 55,000-square-foot store will sell marked-down designer clothes as well as authorized apparel from major league and collegiate sports teams. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created. Get the full story »
By Sandra M. Jones
The "Priscilla Queen Of the Desert cupcake" at Magnolia Bakery in New York City earlier this month. (Jemal Countess/Getty)
Magnolia Bakery, the New York chain credited with starting the cupcake craze, plans to open its first Chicago store at the Block 37 shops in the Loop. The bakery signed a lease for 2,550 square feet on the first floor of the indoor shopping mall. The shop is slated to open in June. Get the full story »
March 14 at 5:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail
By Dow Jones Newswires
Facebook will soon start testing a service to provide discounts and other special offers to its more than 500 million members, a move that will thrust the social network into direct competition with daily deals market leader Groupon. Get the full story »
March 11 at 4:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Retail
By Reuters
A lawsuit filed in California this week accuses national drug-store chain Walgreen Co. of unlawfully selling medical information gleaned from patient prescriptions, another front in the battle over personal information.
Unlike suits that focus on patient privacy, the plaintiffs accuse Walgreen Co. of depriving them of the commercial value of their own prescription information. Get the full story »
March 11 at 12:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Retail,
Stock activity
By Dow Jones Newswires
Shares in Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. jumped more than 10 percent, to $46.47, in early afternoon trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Late Thursday, the company reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 49 percent and core results topped its upbeat expectations amid continued strength in same-store sales.
The company also forecast current-quarter earnings that beat the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
March 11 at 8:17 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail
By Reuters
U.S. retail sales posted their largest gain in four months in February as shoppers stepped up purchases of autos, clothes and other goods even as they spent more for gasoline. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department pointed to strong consumer spending and acceleration in economic growth in the first quarter. Get the full story »
