Dillard's

Dillard's has stopped selling a controversial holiday sign that appeared in the girls section of one of its stores in Florida. The sign read: "Dear Santa, This year please give me a big fat bank account and a slim body. Please don't mix those two up like you did last year. Thanks." The sign was supposed to be part of the home merchandise area with other "whimsical" signs, said Dillard's Spokeswoman Julie Johnson Bull. "We immediately removed it from the little girls display," she said, adding that the sign would no longer be sold in any of the chain's stores.

Dillard’s reported that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 soared a record 85 percent to $26.6 million, compared with $14.4 million in the year-ago period. Strong comps and contained expenses propelled the strong performance.

NEW YORK — Further proof that the sluggish economy is affecting higher-income households much less than lower-income households can be found in the quarterly profits of Dillard's and Nordstrom's, which both reported earnings this week. Dillard’s Inc. reported Friday that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 29 soared a record 85% to $26.6 million, compared with $14.4 million in the year-ago period. Strong comps and contained expenses propelled the strong performance. Revenue rose to $1.38 billion, from $1.34 billion, beating Wall Street’s expected $1.36 billion in sales. Same-store sales increased 5%. “This record-setting third quarter performance further solidifies our

Kohl's is the nation's favorite fashion retail chain, according to an annual consumer survey conducted by Market Force Information, a provider of customer intelligence solutions. This is the third year in a row that Kohl's has earned the top spot.

New York City -- Macy’s reported that its same-store sales rose 5% in August, beating estimates. The retailer said sales would have been higher by 1.5% points without the impact of Hurricane Irene. Industry analysts had warned that the storm would impact department stores and specialty retailers the most as consumers focused on buying generators and other emergency and recovery items versus back-to-school and discretionary products. Macy’s said that its sales also were hurt by about 130 Irene-related store closings, But the chain said sales over the past three days have been strong and it expects Irene’s negative effect

Dillard’s said it's offered to relocate 66 St. Louis employees whose jobs have been eliminated from the department store retailer’s merger of two merchandising divisions. Dillard’s is merging its St. Louis merchandising division with another in Little Rock, Ark. The St. Louis division is slated to close Oct. 23.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Shortly after Nordstrom reported a 20% quarterly earnings gain, fellow luxury retailer Dillard's posted net income of $17.6 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $6.8 million, or 10 cents per share, for the same period last year. Same-store sales for the second quarter were up 6%. Net sales for the quarter were $1.44 billion compared with $1.4 billion last year. Dillard’s CEO, William Dillard, II, stated, “Our strong second quarter operating results solidified a very successful first half of 2011, essentially doubling our earnings per share to $1.66 from 80 cents. While we

PLANO, Texas — While such higher-end apparel retailers as Nordstrom and Dillard's boasted impressive quarterly earnings and sales, those that cater to the middle class didn't deliver quite as strongly. Case in point, JCPenney, which reported net income of $14 million, or 7 cents per share, for the second quarter ended July 30. Net income for the same period last year was $14 million, or 6 cents per share. The company reported that same-store sales for the quarter increased 1.5% thanks to increased interest in its exclusive and private brands and the expansion of Sephora. Total sales were down

Same-store retail sales for October were up 1.7 percent, a smaller increase compared to the gains in September with 2.8 percent and 2.3 percent in October 2009, according to Kantar Retail's monthly report of 31 U.S. retailers.

Same-store sales, excluding Walmart, saw a 3.2 percent gain in June, up from May's 2.7 percent increase, according to Retail Forward's monthly report for 31 retailers. Last month's increase also topped June 2009's 4.7 percent decline, evaluated without Walmart. "The June results are positive, but the recovery in retail sales will be challenged in the coming months as long as doubts grow among shoppers," says Frank Badillo, senior economist at Retail Forward. "And it's clear that the news from the Gulf to Europe is starting to affect the outlook among shoppers." Among the biggest gains: Nordstrom (14.1 percent), Zumiez (10.9