Retail sales rose 3.6 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, compared with a 3.2-percent drop in the year-ago period, according
to figures from MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse.
Shoppers headed to America’s malls Saturday, many with gift cards in hand, hoping to snag after-Christmas discounts. They
were greeted with big markdowns—in some cases topping 75 percent off—but often found limited selection.
With an improved balance sheet and $150 million in its pocket, the athletic-gear retailer is looking at new locations and
improving its online shopping hub.
The Steak n Shake Co., in an unusual gambit, plans to initiate a reverse stock split that would reduce its number of shares
outstanding from almost 29 million to just 1.4 million and boost its per-share price from roughly $12 to $240.
After more than a century in business, Indianapolis-based Stout’s Footwear Co. isn’t just
surviving. It also is proceeding with plans to open
a store next year on the city’s north side.
After shoppers gave retailers a somewhat encouraging start to the holiday shopping season, stores now turn their attention
to the online promotions known as Cyber Monday and bringing back customers the rest of the season.
National Wine & Spirits Inc. suffered a staggering reversal of fortune when the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission
ruled Nov. 5 that Southern Wine
& Spirits of America Inc. could distribute here.
Cafe Patachou owner Martha Hoover can now move forward with plans to open a pizzeria next to her trademark eatery at 49th
and Pennsylvania streets.
Shoe Carnival Inc.’s quarterly same-store sales, which measure revenue from locations open at least a year, climbed 10.2 percent.
Airport concessionaires stung by a 10-percent drop in passenger traffic have asked the Indianapolis Airport Authority to ease
a policy that was implemented more than 10 years ago to keep prices in line with what consumers pay outside
the airport.
Retail sales rose more than expected in October due largely to a big rebound in auto sales. But broader consumer spending
remains under pressure.
Recent earnings reports from major retailers suggest that the wealthy, who pulled back their spending the hardest during the
financial meltdown last fall, are once again being enticed to open their wallets and going back to higher-end outlets. But
those on the lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics.
Those in the trenches say this won’t be a blockbuster Christmas, but it won’t be horrid, either.
Two key employees of the recently closed store in downtown Bloomington have opened their own venture,
Melody Music Shop.
Consumers, enticed by cooler weather, early holiday discounts and an improving economy, spent a little more in October.
HHGregg reported a rise in quarterly profit and sales Thursday morning that exceeded analyst expectations, despite a decrease
in same-store sales.
Locally based Hat World Inc. has agreed to acquire a popular 37-store athletic retail chain in hopes of doing for collegiate
and professional sports licensed apparel what Hat World did for headwear.
Like zombies coming to life in a low-budget horror flick, the Halloween specialty shops that invade empty store fronts are
groaning with activity.
An Indiana legislative committee recommends carryout sales of alcohol remain banned on Sundays, and liquor stores stay the
only place to buy cold beer.
The Metropolitan Development Commission has given its blessing to a new CVS store along 82nd Street just east of Interstate
69 over the objection of city planners.
