My New Toys

Check Out Line: Madonna goes back-to-school

Check out the big M’s: Madonna and Macy’s.  What could possibly say “back-to-school”  more in 2010 than a fashion line named after song released in 1985. That’s what licensing and marketing firm Iconix is developing for Macy’s , in collaboration with rock icon Madonna and her daughter, Lourdes.

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Check Out Line: Snow’s impact in the eye of beholder

Check out the the bad and the good of the severe weather last month.

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Depend goes upscale with new undergarments

Kimberly-Clark, which already launched separate versions of its Depend disposable underwear for incontinence for men and women, is updating the line again in April.  This time, it hopes to boost sales with pricier products for consumers who still want to wear real underwear, or at least look like they are doing so. The new Depend variety packs look more like traditional underwear and are packaged more like the cotton underwear often sold in packages.  That way, perhaps shoppers who buy them — with a suggested price of $5.99 to $6.99 for a pack of six — will not feel as embarrassed, Kimberly-Clark asserts.

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Check Out Line: McDonald’s February sales rise

Check out McDonald’s overseas boost. February sales at McDonald’s restaurants open at least 13 months rose 4.8 percent, even though such sales rose just 0.6 percent in the United States. The world’s biggest hamburger chain attributed some of the gain to Chinese New Year celebrations

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Check Out Line: Clouds lift ever more slightly on consumer confidence

Check out more signs of improving consumer confidence.

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TJX blames Canada … and its Olympics

There is always something getting in the way of rising sales.  In the United States, retailers blamed record-setting snow on the East Coast for curbing a spike in February sales Up in Canada, people were too riveted watching their athletes win a record 14 gold medals, as well as flying moose and beavers, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February to go shopping. Or so said TJX Companies, which operates the Winners chain in the Great White North, in a pre-recorded call on Thursday. Overall, TJX reported that comparable sales rose 10 percent company-wide in February, but only 3 percent in Canada

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Check Out Line: February sales strong despite snow

Check out the return of the shopper.  Even at Abercrombie & Fitch. Several U.S. retailers showed off strong sales gains — albeit over an ugly February 2009 — despite the winter storms that bashed the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and other parts of the United States

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Starbucks outlines gun policy amid fracas

Last month, we wrote a blog  about a controversy over Starbucks decision not to ban guns in its cafes. The fracas started when groups of pistol-packing, open-carry gun rights activists exercised their rights by visiting Northern California restaurants and cafes. Their actions prompted companies like Peet’s Coffee & Tea and California Pizza Kitchen to prohibit firearms in their outlets.

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Check Out Line: Warehouses of woe?

Check out the warehouse retailers getting clubbed.

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Check Out Line: Better pizza=better sales

Check out Domino’s posting better-than-expected profit at Domino’s Pizza. Convenience and quick delivery only can take you so far. The same with offering deals on pizza to attract consumers during the recession

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