 | December 13, 2010 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Fast Retailing aims to open 200 Uniqlo stores in U.S.
Over the next decade, Japan's Fast Retailing plans to open hundreds of Uniqlo stores in the U.S. "The United States is one of the most important markets for us," said Shin Odake, CEO of Uniqlo's U.S. division. "We want to become the number one retailer in the world." Fast Retailing is planning to launch its second U.S. location next year on Fifth Avenue in New York. Bloomberg (12/10)       - Full-price luxury thrives at Louis Vuitton
During the deep-discounting days of the downturn, Louis Vuitton didn't waver from its full-price strategy, and the ban on discounting paid off in strong sales at its 450 stores worldwide. "When times are difficult, people go for value. Value is about the quality of what you do, the integrity of the brand, and the fact that your product is not devalued by price reduction," said executive vice president Philippe Schaus. National Post (Canada) (12/10) - Whole Earth Provision sees recession-era growth
Jack Jones and Linda Wright Jones were new to retail when they launched outdoor lifestyle store Whole Earth Provision in Austin, just as the country was coming out of the 1969-70 recession. The store thrived by selling then-unknown brands such as North Face and Patagonia, and during the recent downturn it grew to eight locations. "We never thought we'd be in business this long, and now we're mainstream," Jack Jones said. The Dallas Morning News (12/11)  | The Sears Experience: Generating Profit through In-Store Testing. NRF Big Ideas Session — Monday, Jan 10, 10:45AM -11:15AM, Room 3D04. Join us to hear how Sears and 26 of the other Top 100 US retailers are using Test & Learn to improve profits and ROI of new programs in capital expenditure, pricing, marketing, new products, advertising, promotions, merchandising, and operations across brands. Click here to learn more and attend. | - The gift cards you might not want to redeem
Wal-Mart is selling gift cards that smell like gingerbread when they're scratched, Home Depot's cards reveal product selections when they're held in front of a Web cam and Barney's New York has issued a limited number of cards bearing photos by Nobuyoshi Araki. While debate over whether cards are thoughtful gifts or out-of-other-ideas purchases goes on, more merchants are working to make their plastic offerings stand out. The New York Times (free registration) (12/10) - Analysts expect higher sales figures from November
November sales probably rose at least 0.6% over November 2009, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of tomorrow's Commerce Department report. Chains including Target, Costco, Abercrombie & Fitch and J.C. Penney have all reported strong November sales increases, in part because of big Thanksgiving weekend promotions. Bloomberg (12/12) - Holidays highlight uneven recovery
Luxury merchants are celebrating the return of high-income shoppers while discount chains' core consumers are still stretching meager dollars. In between are merchants catering to formerly prosperous middle-income consumers, many of whom are still struggling with the recession's aftereffects. Some analysts say the middle is still too crowded, and the ultimate winners will be the ones with the clearest value propositions. The Washington Post (12/12) , Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (12/11)  | Supercharging the Online Channel
Getting to the right shoppers and then converting them to buyers in your online store is every retailer's key objective. Short purchase windows, impatient buyers, and new mandates around security are creating unprecedented demands on commerce sites. Learn how to attract customers to your site, optimize their online shopping experience and drive more transactions. Watch the webinar NOW! |
 - Online fashion seller Karmaloop to launch TV channel
Boston-based Karmaloop.com plans to expand to cable TV next year, with the launch of a channel designed to showcase and sell more of the company's hip urban fashions and increase revenue from third-party advertisers. The channel will give Karmaloop a new outlet for the original video content it produces, but most of the programming would be movies, including horror films and Kung Fu movies. The Boston Globe (12/12)  | Samsonite Brings Durability Online with Amazon Webstore Samsonite wanted a truly integrated brand and marketing experience—a site that looked like Samsonite and still allowed them to promote their products effectively. They turned to Amazon Webstore to tap their expertise and raise the Samsonite eCommerce processes to a 'best-in-class' level. Download the Case Study now! |
 Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
 | Stay "On the Pulse" of Holiday Online Shoppers
Track online shopping activity with the Cyber Holiday Pulse Index, exclusively from Chase Paymentech. Get actual online payment transaction data - not estimations. Discover key shopping dates for better promotional planning and gain insight into consumer spending habits. Follow the Pulse Index here | | Policy & Government Affairs |  | | | - Merchants work to comply with new health-care law
Companies including retailers are hiring consultants and working overtime to wade through the paperwork that comes with new health-care requirements created by this year's reform law. Borders has boosted its spending on consultants to help the chain comply with rules that will affect coverage for its part-time employees, including a change to the definition of "part-time." The Wall Street Journal (12/13) - Federal bill calls for full disclosure on fur content
Both houses of Congress have passed the Truth in Fur Act, a bill that would require clothing manufacturers to disclose all uses of animal fur in their garments. If the bill is signed into law, it will supersede a previous law that exempted items valued at $150 or less -- about 13% of fur items sold in the U.S. -- from disclosure rules. AOL Small Business (12/10) | | | Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. |
| NRF News | | | | - NRF urges Senate to support extension of Bush tax cuts
With a scheduled procedural vote looming today, NRF is urging the Senate to support legislation extending Bush-era tax cuts, saying the measure would help preserve and create jobs. "If current tax rates are allowed to expire at the end of this month, millions of Americans will see a massive tax hike on New Year's Day that will force billions of dollars to be withheld from their very next paycheck," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. Read more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - McDonald's to put oatmeal on the menu
McDonald's is rolling out oatmeal on the breakfast menus at all its U.S. stores this week, adding maple flavoring, fruit and cream to create a signature breakfast dish that the chain plans to promote in a national campaign next month. McDonald's follows Starbucks and Jamba Juice, which introduced oatmeal in 2008 and have seen demand for the breakfast dish increase steadily. Chicago Tribune (12/11) | Career Track | | | |  | |  | | | | |  |  Director of eCommerce | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Director, Guest Services | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Director of Marketing and Licensing | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/Toyzam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Buyer - Ladies Apparel - Special Sizes | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | Senior Software Engineer | Bass Pro Shops | Springfield, MO | | Store Technology Leader | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Regional Manager Development Program | Follett Higher Education Group | Multiple Locations, United States | | Retail Construction Project Manager | Teavana | Atlanta, GA | | Planogram Specialist (Temporary not to exceed 2 Years) | Headquarters Marine Corps/ Marine Corps Exchange | Quantico, VA | | Assistant Category Manager - Reader's Market | Sears | Hoffman Estates, IL | | Business Process Analyst | QVC | West Chester, PA | | Legal Counsel | Kohl's | Menomonee Falls, WI | | Branch Head/Field Operations (Marine Corps Exchanges) | Headquarters/MCCS | Quantico Marine Corps Base, VA | | | |  | |  |
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Six out of ten holiday shoppers will give gift receipts with presents this year. Source: 
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