Retailers

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

High-end outdoor clothier and gear maker Patagonia Inc. is out to prove that a company can generate strong sales while being nearly fanatical about environmental concerns. The Ventura company was the first major clothier to make fleece jackets out of recycled bottles. Nearly a third of the power for its headquarters and adjoining child-care center comes from solar. And it donates 1% of its sales to environmental causes. With Patagonia being a privately held company, its finances are not public, but it says it's riding a growth curve.

washington -- Mitt Romney twice emphasized his unique business background when he and eight other Republican presidential candidates faced off in a debate last week in Iowa. "I've spent the last, as I've told you, 25 years in the private sector," former Massachusetts Gov. Romney declared at one point. "I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I've done business in 20 countries."

Add slowing retail sales to the story of the payback for the warm winter weather. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail spending in April rose a tiny 0.1% from the previous month, seasonally adjusted. Details of the report made clear that the unusually mild winter had pulled some spending forward — resulting in a spring correction, as was also seen in job growth last month. A separate government report showed the consumer price index, after three months of increases, unchanged in April because of lower fuel costs.

Teens are hitting the malls again, and not just to hang out and shop. Job-hunting season for the summer is underway as teens scramble for coveted positions at their favorite apparel retailers, frozen yogurt shops and department stores. The best jobs are often filled by spring break. This year, with the nation's unemployment rate at 9.7% in March, expect the job market to be especially crowded, analysts say. Not only do teens have to compete with college students and recent graduates, they'll also be up against a wave of out-of-work adults ready to snap up even temporary positions.

Retail giant Target Corp. is heading to downtown Los Angeles, part of a growing trend of big-box retailers taking advantage of a beaten-down urban real estate market. The 7+Fig mall downtown ? which has been without an anchor tenant since Macy's left early last year ? will get the new Target, which will be smaller than most and carry a different merchandise mix, with a heavy emphasis on food and household basics. "It's really about trying to magnify the relationship that we have had with those urban central core guests," said John Griffith, executive vice president of property development at Target.

Gasoline prices are keeping up their record-setting ways. California drivers paid an average of $4.358 for a gallon of regular gasoline, up 6.6 cents from a week earlier, the Energy Department said Monday. That's a fresh record high for this time of year and is 48.4 cents above the year-earlier price. Nationally, the average rose 7.2 cents to $3.793, also a record for this week, according to Energy Department statistics. A year earlier, the average U.S. price was 27.3 cents lower.

Shopping at Amazon.com Inc. and other major Internet stores is poised to get more expensive. Beginning Friday, a new state law will require large out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases that their California customers make on the Internet — a prospect eased only slightly by a 1-percentage-point drop in the tax that also takes effect at the same time. Getting the taxes, which consumers typically don't pay to the state if online merchants don't charge them, is "a common-sense idea," said Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the legislation into law Wednesday.

When it comes to retailing, big is not so beautiful anymore. Weak sales, online competition and changing consumer habits have big-box chains looking to downsize. Best Buy Co. is the latest merchant shedding space, in an initiative that stands out in both size and scope. The giant retailer, with 1,300 stores nationwide, is launching plans to wall off parts of its cavernous stores and sublease the space to smaller retailers, such as grocers, beauty supply stores, home furnishing outlets and others.

Surges of large-scale retail bankruptcies such as Circuit City electronics and Mervyns department stores altered the shopping landscape in 2009 -- and experts say 2010 is likely to bring even more changes. Amid a still-tepid economic recovery, big retail chains are expected to continue closing their less productive stores and retrenching on expansion plans. But at the same time, others will be hurtling into the breach to take advantage of falling rents and vacancies in neighborhoods they couldn't get into a few years ago. "The prediction for next year is more re-sizing and relocating of retailers," said real estate broker Richard Rizika of CB Richard Ellis.

Los Angeles supermarket magnate Ron Burkle went upscale with the latest addition to his portfolio: fashion retailer Barneys New York. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. and Perry Capital took ownership of Barneys in a debt-restructuring deal, Barneys announced Monday. Perry Capital is the majority owner. The deal slashes Barneys' debt to $50 million from $590 million. "This agreement provides us with increased free cash flow that will be used to revitalize our stores, invest in Barneys.com and further enhance our customer experience at a time when our operational financial performance is very strong," Barneys Chief Executive Mark Lee said in a statement.

Corruption allegations roiling the Los Angeles County assessor's office have reached a former Hollywood landmark: the Old Spaghetti Factory on Sunset Boulevard. Last summer, Ramin Salari, a property tax consultant and campaign fundraiser for county Assessor John Noguez, lobbied to reduce the shuttered restaurant's tax bill because, he said, the land it sat on wasn't worth the $14 million his clients had paid for it. He convinced Noguez's staff to assess the shuttered eatery, and four smaller parcels nearby, for $7.2 million.

Ascena Retail Group Inc. is venturing into the plus-size women's clothing market by acquiring Charming Shoppes Inc., parent company of Lane Bryant, for about $890 million. The purchase will allow Ascena, the Suffern, N.Y., company that owns Dressbarn and teen clothier Justice, to jump into the growing market for bigger-size women's apparel. Charming also owns the Catherines Plus Sizes and Fashion Bug brands. Ascena will buy Charming for $7.35 a share, a 25% premium over Tuesday's closing price.

Chrysler Group reported its third consecutive quarterly profit and logged its best financial performance in more than a decade. Chrysler said it posted net income of $473 million for the first quarter of 2012, up more than 300% from $116 million a year earlier. The company said the gains were driven primarily by a 40% increase in U.S. retail sales. It was the company's highest quarterly profit since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. "Another positive quarter - built on sales gains that have surpassed the industry average - is affirmation that the Chrysler team is maintaining its focus," said Sergio Marchionne, who is chief executive of Chrysler and Italian automaker Fiat.

Not only did Google launch its cloud service today, it also got into the retail phone business, selling the Galaxy Nexus directly to consumers through its Google Play marketplace. The unlocked, unsubsidized phone goes for $399 and is compatible with AT&T , T-Mobile and other GSM service providers. This one won't work on Verizon or Sprint. The Nexus runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). All the specs on the phone are the same as the ones sold with contracts.

--London has overtaken Dubai as the world's prime shopping destination, according to a new report. The British capital attracts the most retail brands among all the great shopping cities around the globe, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. Last year, London and Dubai tied for first place and beat out shopping hot spots such as New York, Hong Kong and Paris. CBRE said London draws about 56% of all international brands, with Dubai close behind at 54%. In third place is New York, followed by Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.

IF it's been a year or two since you've shopped for a mattress, you're in for some surprises. That memory foam bed that once seemed so novel? It's now decidedly mainstream. Latex is the hot material of choice. And that's not all that's changed. Choices are multiplying -- especially on the luxury end -- and prices are too.

Sears Holdings Corp. is turning to its house of brands to buttress its shrinking retail operation as the money-losing retailer struggles to stem a five-year sales decline. The DieHard, Craftsman and Kenmore brands have been around almost as long as Sears, and now they're being pushed to the fore. Deals are in place to sell DieHard and Craftsman through other retailers, while executives have begun to look at ways to make money from the Kenmore brand without damaging Sears' core appliance business.

WASHINGTON -- Forget high gas prices and stagnant incomes. American consumers are spending like the good times are back. Retail sales in March far exceeded analysts' forecasts, growing at a strong 0.8% pace after similarly robust gains in the prior two months, the Census Bureau reported Monday. "Consumers shot the lights out in the first quarter," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York, in a note to clients. Stocks rose in early trading on the news, but there were some caveats.

After turning dates like Mother's Day into consumer bonanzas and elevating Black Friday into a bona fide holiday, retailers have recently embraced Earth Day as yet another reason to shop. But Earth Day, founded by in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin governor and senator, has a save-the-planet ethos that doesn't jibe well with the shop-till-you drop ads marking traditional holidays like Christmas. So some retailers are giving away eco-friendly items instead. Below is a list of some April 22 freebies and deals culled by dealnews.com: 1. Target Corp.