Retailers

Despite a presidential election, "fiscal cliff" debates and Hurricane Sandy, retailers bumped up their holiday hiring to the highest level in six years, according to a report. Retailers hired 728,000 new workers in the last three months of the year, up 10.3% compared with the same period last year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That was the highest year-end bump in the retail sector since 2006. Most of that hiring occurred in October and November, when employers added 640,000 to their payrolls.

Consumers worried about the economy appeared more cautious about buying in June, prompting concerns about a possible slowdown in spending just ahead of the back-to-school shopping season. Major chain stores posted a weak 0.1% sales increase in June compared with the same month a year earlier, below analysts' expectations of a 0.5% rise, according to Thomson Reuters ' tally of 20 retailers. "Volatility is the word that best describes the June performance," said Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

A cadre of chefs, restaurants and cooking enthusiasts with a mutual love of olive oil are accusing several companies of diluting the product with cheaper alternatives while still branding it as "extra virgin." The group filed a complaint in Orange County Superior Court this week claiming that several retailers and olive oil producers, including such varied outlets as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Bristol Farms, have misled Californians for years about the actual quality of the olive oil on sale.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., Big Lots Inc. and Variety Wholesalers Inc. will pay the U.S. government a total of $106,000 to settle charges they failed to warn TV buyers about the switch to digital signals next year. The retailers didn't display labels or signs telling customers that old-fashioned analog sets will need extra equipment to work after the switch to digital transmissions in February, the Federal Communications Commission said in orders and consent decrees posted today on its website.

With high levels of consumer debt continuing to crimp consumer spending, the nation's major retailers today reported mediocre sales gains in April over a year ago. Sears, Roebuck & Co., the largest retailer, said its sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 1.9% from the same period a year ago. K mart Corp., ranked second, said its sales increased 2.8%, while No. 3 J. C. Penney Co. said its sales rose 7.8%. F. W. Woolworth Co., the No. 7 chain, reported an 8.

— Getting hired at Raleigh's new Container Store takes a lot more than simply going online and filling out an application. The lucky few who are offered one of the store's 55 to 60 positions will have to make it through an online application, a phone interview, a two-hour group interview and as many as three additional one-on-one meetings. The whole process can take three weeks or more, and that's just for a sales position. Such a stringent interview process could soon be the norm as retailers react to an economy in which consumers are still reluctant to spend and unemployment is still high.

Shoppers appeared to be more cautious last month in spending for clothing and other items as rising gas and food prices took up a bigger chunk of their disposable income, raising some concern about a possible slowdown in sales over the summer. Major retail chains reported a modest 4.9% gain in sales last month compared with a year earlier, below analysts' predictions of a 5.4% rise, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 24 retailers released Thursday. At the Westfield Culver City mall, shoppers said that rising temperatures had put them in the mood to browse for swimsuits and other summer apparel.

Although it came late, back-to-school season made the grade for retailers this year after two disappointing seasons, boosting hopes that the holidays could see healthy sales as well. Retailers said back-to-school sales were strong during the first half of September as students rushed to youth-oriented shops and department stores to stock up on new outfits. Considered a good barometer of discretionary spending, the teen apparel sector delivered a strong 6.7% sales gain last month, significantly better than the expected 0.5% increase and its best result since April 2008, according to a monthly tally of retailers by Thomson Reuters.

As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. Relishing the prospect of many all-day shoppers Saturday, stores across the nation are also extending hours, cutting prices and renewing bargain offers. Toys R Us stores nationwide began an all-day-all-night marathon that began Tuesday and continues until 10 p.m. Christmas Eve. That's a day longer than last year's endurance test.

As one who has been around long enough to have seen any number of retail changes, your article on declining department sales brought to mind what seem to me obvious reasons ["Luxury Retailers Hurt as Consumers Scale Back," June 4]. Perhaps foremost is the decline of style in the stores themselves. A Macy's is no Bullocks, nor does Robinsons-May bear any resemblance to Robinson's. In those stores, merchandise was artfully displayed, easily located and sold to you by helpful and well-dressed salespeople who knew the garments, what went with them and what else the store might have that you might like.