Discount Stores

SEVERAL shell-encrusted items are pictured in the beautiful home of Cameron Brunner ["Shabby Chic, All Grown Up," May 11]. I have noticed in catalogs and home stores that seashells (and the remains of sea creatures such as sea stars and urchins) are widely available in many forms: crafted into candles, adorning mirrors, and even overlaying entire pieces of furniture such as dressers and tables. The shells are also sold by the bag at craft stores, import emporiums and discount stores. This leads me to wonder from where these treasures are being harvested and if the creatures or their environment are being harmed in the process.

U.S. prosecutors accused an Armenian organized crime gang of bilking victims out of an estimated $20 million in an audacious series of financial scams that included replacing the credit-card machines at more than a dozen 99 Cent-Only stores with their own scanners designed to steal customers' banking information. The charges filed Wednesday against alleged members and associates of the Armenian Power gang included allegations of two kidnappings, theft of money from elderly bank customers, the smuggling of cellphones into state prisons, and trafficking in drugs and weapons.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will eliminate some 11,200 jobs at its Sam's Club stores as it brings in an independent marketing firm to perform in-store product demonstrations. Outsourcing the in-store demonstrations to Shopper Events, a marketing firm based in Rogers, Ark., will trim about 10,000 jobs, or 9% of the company's workforce, the company said. Most of these positions are part time, the company said. The retailer also will eliminate about 1,200 jobs in business membership recruiting, or about two positions at each of its U.S. warehouse clubs.

The post-Christmas rush was on at malls and other retail venues, but many shoppers right away noticed something missing: the huge discounts that made end-of-holiday sales so alluring in recent years. "Beside the 'buy one, get one free' special for dress shirts, it's the same percent off that Macy's always seems to have," Alfonso Hernandez of Norwalk said Sunday morning as he left the Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos with only a pair of bluejeans. At the Jos. A. Bank men's clothing store in Huntington Beach, items such as underwear and socks that were on a "buy one, get two free" special last week were regularly priced Sunday.

Hoping to tap into consumers' new frugality, luxury department store chain Bloomingdale's plans to launch an outlet store concept this year. The decision, announced Thursday by parent company Macy's Inc., calls for four outlets to open this summer or fall, with more locations expected for 2011 and beyond. The first stores are scheduled to open in Paramus, N.J.; Miami; Sunrise, Fla.; and Woodbridge, Va. "We have been studying the opportunities for entering the off-the-mall outlet business for some time, and the timing now is right given the consumer's particular focus on value in addition to fashion and quality," Terry J. Lundgren, chief executive of Macy's Inc., said in a statement.

Security guard Johnny Franklin was prepared for a big crowd, but not the horde that descended on Fedco Wednesday for its last day in business. "It was awful busy," said Franklin, who was manning the front entrance. "People were grabbing the baskets, and ramming them into the back of one another. I told them all to slow down. I haven't seen people act like that, except at a concert." By late morning, the good stuff was gone.

It must have been a coincidence that Powell's article was right above the article by Jeff Cohen, "The Dilemma of Corporate Media Bosses." It is too bad that people like Powell set themselves up as judges of business owners. Cohen shows it is the people who meet at the secret Bohemian Grove who create the system that business has to function in. Yes, people are in business to make a profit, and they too have to earn a living. But why condemn them for giving other people jobs? What is the purpose of this article?

Back in 1970 when Walker Art Center in Minneapolis commissioned artist Red Grooms to do a work titled "The Discount Store," middle America was flocking, pink hair curlers and all, to cut-rate outlets. The places had a certain carnival charm, with their bright lights and popcorn booths.

The City Council today will consider a temporary ordinance that would prohibit the opening ,of new thrift and discount stores. The 45-day emergency ordinance would give the council time to consider permanent regulations.

Leslie's Poolmart, a Chatsworth-based company that operates the nation's largest chain of swimming-pool supply stores, said it plans to open five discount stores by the end of March. The new outlets in Southern California and Texas "will not offer the services, repairs and level of customer service" available in the company's existing network of 104 stores in 23 states, Leslie's said. But the company's president, Brian P.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will eliminate some 11,200 jobs at its Sam's Club stores as it brings in an independent marketing firm to perform in-store product demonstrations. Outsourcing the in-store demonstrations to Shopper Events, a marketing firm based in Rogers, Ark., will trim about 10,000 jobs, or 9% of the company's workforce, the company said. Most of these positions are part time, the company said. The retailer also will eliminate about 1,200 jobs in business membership recruiting, or about two positions at each of its U.S. warehouse clubs.

Hoping to tap into consumers' new frugality, luxury department store chain Bloomingdale's plans to launch an outlet store concept this year. The decision, announced Thursday by parent company Macy's Inc., calls for four outlets to open this summer or fall, with more locations expected for 2011 and beyond. The first stores are scheduled to open in Paramus, N.J.; Miami; Sunrise, Fla.; and Woodbridge, Va. "We have been studying the opportunities for entering the off-the-mall outlet business for some time, and the timing now is right given the consumer's particular focus on value in addition to fashion and quality," Terry J. Lundgren, chief executive of Macy's Inc., said in a statement.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Monday that it would close 10 underperforming Sam's Club stores, including four in California. In the Southland, the warehouse club operator will shut stores in Irvine, La Quinta and Vista. Other closures will include stores in the Sacramento, Houston and Phoenix markets. Spokeswoman Susan Koehler said the stores are scheduled to close Jan. 22. She said she didn't know why so many California locations were affected. "It's not related to the economy," she said.

Investors will get some guidance about the economy this week from data issued not by the government but by big retailers in the form of third-quarter earnings reports. The financial markets are still trying to get a sense of whether consumers, while worried about unemployment, are nonetheless willing to spend, especially as the holiday season approaches. Retailers' earnings reports and outlooks for the future should give them clues about the economic recovery. Investors will also get a first look at consumer sentiment during November.

Video games, once considered recession-resistant, are showing signs of economic strain. Game prices are coming down, and so are sales. Hot titles like Guitar Hero are feeling the pressure. Even sales of Nintendo Co.'s popular Wii consoles are down. Overall, industry sales in the U.S. stumbled 17% in April over the previous year, with console sales dropping 8% and games sliding 23%, according to a report released Thursday from tracking firm NPD Group Inc.

Not long ago, a trip to the dollar store meant going on a treasure hunt through cluttered aisles not knowing what you would find: a cranberry-scented candle, a scratchy towel, a box of look-alike Oreos. But in the last few years, dollar stores have been going through a makeover, adding refrigerators and freezers, stocking more food and cleaning up the presentation. As the recession hit, the dollar stores were ready with low-price groceries to attract a newly frugal middle class.

When people describe Orange County as a shopper's paradise, they're usually referring to the glistening shops of MainPlace/Santa Ana, South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island and the beach towns. But the area is a fertile hunting ground for discount shoppers as well as those prowling the upscale stores. Membership shopping clubs, stores that sell goods at near-wholesale prices to cardholders, are spreading throughout Southern California like tract houses in San Bernardino.

Sorry, Mom: The estimated 83 million mothers in the U.S. will be getting smaller and cheaper gifts on Sunday. Americans are expected to spend an average of $123.89 a person on Mother's Day, down from $138.63 last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey. And that's down from $139.14 in 2007, according to the survey, conducted by market researcher BIGresearch. Still, for FedEx Corp.

Ninety-nine cents just doesn't go as far as it used to, and that's a problem for the 99 Cents Only Stores chain. Faced with fast-rising inflation and soaring food prices, the retailer -- known for never selling anything for more than 99 cents -- is reevaluating its pricing strategy. And that could mean breaking the $1 barrier for the first time in the company's 26-year history. "There's no question we're going to need to do something," Chief Executive Eric Schiffer said to analysts this month after the company reported its second consecutive quarterly loss.