Store clerk Summer Johnson knelt in front of a rack of leather jackets inside the Blanding Boulevard Jagmania outlet and used anti-theft tags and security chains to connect them together.
"We double-team 'em," she said as she linked the jackets into a hanging chain gang.
To steal one of the $240 coats, a shoplifter would have to cut the chain and disable the security tag that would howl if it passed the detector by the front door.
The security measure is just one way retailers are reacting to shoplifting, a crime that has expanded from individual thieves who steal for personal use to include organized gangs that market their booty online. Sorry times in the economy also figure to attract first-time pilferers. Read more...
While fiscal storm clouds may be signalling a less-than-festive sales season for many businesses, it appears local merchants such as Jonathon Bancroft-Snell aren't anticipating lumps of coal in their stockings when Christmas figures are tallied up.
In fact, the owner of Canada's largest contemporary Canadian ceramic art gallery says November was the best month the business has enjoyed since opening eight years ago.
"Our business is generally good year-round and Christmas usually accounts for about 30 per cent of our annual retail sales," he explains.
"While we haven't made any radical changes for this season, we did augment our ceramic art in November with exciting silver work and new paintings from young artists," such as Ingersoll's Shane Norrie. Read more...
Washington—The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.
The NBER -- a private, nonprofit research organization -- said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December.
By one benchmark, a recession occurs whenever the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, declines for two consecutive quarters. The GDP turned negative in the July-September quarter of this year, and many economists believe it is falling in the current quarter at an even sharper rate. Read more...
(Washington) – Though the holiday season is far from over, retailers across the country are breathing a collective sigh of relief after shoppers headed to stores and websites in droves over the weekend. According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 147 million shoppers last year. Read more...
(Washington) — People who don’t want to fight Black Friday crowds will have a less chaotic shopping option just three days later. Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is expected to be more promotional than ever this year as retailers offer one-day sales and special offers to bring holiday shoppers online. Read more...
(Washington) — Shoppers’ price-conscious mentality is taking a toll on the season’s most-requested present: gift cards. NRF’s sixth annual Gift Card Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that gift card sales will fall nearly six percent this holiday season to $24.9 billion, down from $26.3 billion last year. Fewer people plan to purchase gift cards this year (53.5% vs. 56.6% last year) and gift card shoppers will be spending less overall on the cards ($147.33 vs. $156.24 in 2007). Read more...
(WASHINGTON) – Though the majority of consumers have not even put a dent in their shopping list, traditional winter apparel and personal, inexpensive items like DVDs, CDs and books will be the first things they stock up on as they begin their holiday shopping. Read more...
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – For retailers expecting lumps of coal in their cash registers this holiday season, teens’ consumer confidence about holiday spending may provide an unexpected gift. According to Junior Achievement’s 2008 Teen Holiday Spending poll, more than three quarters of teens surveyed (76 percent) plan to spend as much—or more—this year than last year on holiday gifts. Read more...
(WHITE PLAINS, NY) …A comprehensive series of educational sessions covering business issues pertinent to retailers will be among highlights of the 156th semi-annual New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF), Sunday, January 25, through Thursday, January 29, 2009, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 90, 92 and 94. Exciting special events, displays and buyer promotions also will enhance the market experience for buyers and exhibitors. Read more...
The US economy contracted in the third quarter as the sharpest drop in consumer spending in nearly 30 years erased any remaining doubts that the nation is in a recession, analysts said.
The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the economy shrank at a modest 0.3 percent annual rate in the quarter ended Sept. 30, a better than expected performance that helped send stocks soaring yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 190 points to close at 9,180.69. Read more...
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