Retail
Private stores to start selling liquor on Friday
OLYMPIA -- Easy access to booze nearly all hours every day is what many Washington lawmakers wanted to avoid when Prohibition ended in 1933.
Date: 05/28/2012 | Local News
New look for Old Milltown
Edmonds businesses make the move to downtown center
Date: 05/28/2012 | Business
Inbox: digital groceries, pay for news, tag your bag
Miscellany from our inbox ...Electronic coupons at Safeway
Date: 05/24/2012 | Bizblog
Whole Foods to open store in Detroit
DETROIT -- Upscale retailer Whole Foods has broken ground at the site of its new market in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood.Mayor Dave Bing, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Whole Foods Market Inc.'s co-chief executive Walter Robb took part in the ceremony.
Date: 05/15/2012 | Business
Best Buy founder steps down after CEO probe
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze is stepping down as chairman after an investigation found that he knew that the company's CEO was having a relationship with a female employee and failed to alert the audit committee. The company also said that despite the fact that its audit committee found that...
Date: 05/15/2012 | Business
Closing of public market disappoints vendors
SNOHOMISH -- The Washington Public Market and Wine Cellars of Washington opened last November with great fanfare, attracting more than 5,000 people on the first weekend.It didn't last.The market announced this week that it was shutting down immediately.
Date: 05/12/2012 | Business
Market and cellars in Snohomish closed
The Washington Public Market and Wine Cellars of Washington in Snohomish are closing. Twenty-five wine vendors and more than 100 other market vendors have been told by owner Scott Swoboda via email to vacate the buildings at 1011 Second St.
Date: 05/10/2012 | Bizblog
Tulalip outlets owner is No. 1 real estate company
INDIANAPOLIS -- The nation's largest shopping mall operator, Simon Property Group Inc., is now also the world's largest real estate company.
Date: 05/08/2012 | Business
Microsoft, Barnes & Noble team up on Nook
NEW YORK — An infusion of money from Microsoft Corp. sent Barnes & Noble Inc.'s stock zooming Monday, as the software giant established a way to get back into the e-books business.
Date: 04/30/2012 | Business
AOL launches online video network
AOL is launching an online video network that will gather its programming onto one platform, the latest bid by a major Internet destination to be a player in Web television.
Date: 04/25/2012 | Business
2 Everett liquor outlets to close this week
EVERETT -- Two state liquor stores here are among 14 statewide that will close Thursday because of dwindling staffing during a transition to privatization, which commences June 1.
Date: 04/24/2012 | Bizblog
Winning bids for 19 Snohomish County liquor stores
The Washington State Liquor Control Board on Monday announced the winning bidders for the rights to operate 167 state-run outlets, including 19 in Snohomish County. The auction, which raised $30.7...
Date: 04/23/2012 | Bizblog
State sells rights to liquor stores for $30.7 million
Kulbir Singh was in Seattle visiting friends in February when he heard the state might be privatizing the liquor sales it has tightly controlled since the end of Prohibition.
Date: 04/23/2012 | Business
Liquor store bids are in
YAKIMA -- Washington state's voter-mandated exit from the booze business moved another step forward Friday with the conclusion of an online auction of its state-run liquor stores.
Date: 04/21/2012 | Business
Cabela's draws thousands
Tulalip location for outdoor outfitter opens (photo gallery)
Date: 04/19/2012 | Business
Stranger, Seattle Times capture Pulitzer Prizes
Writers for weekly alternative newspaper The Stranger and the Seattle Times have won Pulitzer Prizes, it was announced Monday.
Date: 04/17/2012 | Business
Judd & Black to open Mount Vernon store
After more than 70 years in business in Snohomish County, locally owned major appliance retailer Judd & Black has opened its first location in Skagit County, in south Mount Vernon. The new location on Cedardale Road is Judd & Black’s...
Date: 04/16/2012 | Bizblog
Inside the new Cabela's
Get a sneak peek at the Tulalip store in our photo gallery
Date: 04/16/2012 | Business
Kroger, Stop & Shop join 'pink slime' exodus
NEW YORK -- Supermarket chains Kroger Co. and Stop & Shop said Thursday they will join the growing list of store chains that will no longer sell beef that includes an additive with the unappetizing moniker "pink slime."
Date: 03/22/2012 | Business
Court upholds initiative privatizing liquor sales
LONGVIEW -- A Cowlitz County judge on Monday ruled that a voter-approved initiative privatizing liquor sales in Washington is constitutional, reversing an earlier decision that had left the measure's fate in question.
Date: 03/19/2012 | Business
Starbucks opens first juice store, in Bellevue
BELLEVUE -- Now that Starbucks Corp, has covered the world -- or at least the United States -- with coffee shops, it is branching into Jamba Juice's territory.
Date: 03/19/2012 | Business
Higher gas prices threaten U.S. economy
WASHINGTON -- Inflation remains tame throughout the U.S. economy, with one big exception: gas prices.
Date: 03/18/2012 | Nation & World
After default, Everett Mall looks to rework its loan
EVERETT -- The owners of the Everett Mall have defaulted on their $98 million mortgage but are working with their lender to restructure the loan, according to the company.
Date: 03/16/2012 | Business
State begins auction of its liquor stores
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Washington state opened a public auction online Thursday of its state-run liquor stores, beginning the process of privatizing a booze industry the state has tightly controlled since the end of Prohibition.
Date: 03/08/2012 | Business
Stores thank veterans
Edmonds businesses are county's first in discount program
Date: 03/06/2012 | Business
Whole Foods almost ready
Lynnwood store opening March 15 will be first in county
Date: 03/05/2012 | Business
Goods will get better display at Goodwill
EDMONDS -- Business is brisk at the new Edmonds Goodwill thrift store. The 16,700 square feet are packed with merchandise – jewelry, designer purses, artwork, unique golf clubs, gently used furniture, crystal goblets, a decorative animal horn.
Date: 02/27/2012 | Business
Backpack maker JanSport leaving Everett, laying off 41 employees
EVERETT -- At the end of March, JanSport will close its distribution center in Everett, ending the outdoor gear maker's 40 years in business here.
Date: 02/22/2012 | Business
U.S. wholesale prices rise slightly in January
WASHINGTON -- U.S. wholesale prices rose slightly in January spurred by higher costs of pharmaceutical drugs, but food and fuel prices fell.
Date: 02/17/2012 | Business
Apple stock breaks $500 level
NEW YORK -- Apple's stock broke above $500 for the first time Monday. It was the latest step in a rally that began more than two weeks ago, when the company reported staggering sales and profits for the holiday quarter.
Date: 02/14/2012 | Business
Everett-based clothing retailer Zumiez moving 70 e-commerce workers to Kansas
EVERETT -- Zumiez Inc. plans to move e-commerce operations from Everett to Kansas in May, the Everett-based clothing retailer announced Thursday.
Date: 02/10/2012 | Business
Flatpack design helps IKEA thrive during world recession
ZAVENTEM, Belgium -- It takes Mikael Ohlsson five minutes -- and the help of one other person -- to assemble IKEA's Ektorp sofa.After 33 years at the Swedish home-ware chain, the 54-year-old chief executive is an expert at configuring IKEA's famous flat-pack furniture.
Date: 01/21/2012 | Business
Economy gets 'horsepower' from jobs report
WASHINGTON -- Four painful years after the Great Recession struck and wiped out 8.7 million jobs, the United States may finally be in an elusive pattern known as the virtuous cycle -- an escalating loop of robust job growth, healthier spending and higher demand.
Date: 01/07/2012 | Business
Best Buy reports soft sales for holiday
MINNEAPOLIS -- Best Buy Co. says that weaker than expected traffic until the week before Christmas and low demand in Canada and Europe put a crimp in its December sales.
Date: 01/07/2012 | Business
Use 'em or trade 'em
If you let gift cards sit unused, you're wasting money
Date: 01/01/2012 | Business
Retro trend boosts sales of classic LL Bean boots
BRUNSWICK, Maine -- A nearly century-old hunting boot is catching on with a younger generation that sees the utilitarian footwear as hip.
Date: 12/30/2011 | Business
Amazon says 2011 'best holiday ever' for Kindle
Online retailer Amazon says 2011 was the best holiday ever for its Kindle-brand e-readers and tablet computers.Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that people bought more than 1 million Kindles each week in December.
Date: 12/30/2011 | Business
No local stores on Sears' closure list so far
No Kmart or Sears stores in Snohomish County were on a list for closure published Thursday by Sears Holdings Corp.However, the holding company for both Sears and Kmart hasn't finished compiling its list.
Date: 12/29/2011 | Business
Stores get double holiday boost from sales
NEW YORK -- The holiday shopping season turned out to be two seasons split by a big lull.
Date: 12/29/2011 | Business
Here are some tips for post-holiday shopping
Stores have plied shoppers with discounts during the holiday shopping season, but bargain hunters can get deeper markdowns immediately after Christmas as retailers make room for new merchandise.
Date: 12/27/2011 | Business
Online shopping surges on Christmas, IBM says
NEW YORK -- A growing number of shoppers apparently need only the briefest of breaks before diving back in, especially if they can log in to shop.
Date: 12/26/2011 | Business
Edmonds may lose bowling alley for Walgreens
EDMONDS -- Robin Hood Lanes, one of a handful of bowling alleys left in Snohomish County and an institution in Edmonds for more than 40 years, may see its days numbered.
Date: 12/26/2011 | Local News
Last-minute buyers top off strong shopping season
It's that time for caroling, eggnog, holiday cheer -- and for some, a frantic dash to the mall.Last-minute shoppers hit stores on Christmas Eve in a surge that retailers hope will top off a strong holiday shopping season.
Date: 12/24/2011 | Nation & World
Last-minute buyers top off strong shopping season
It's that time for caroling, eggnog, holiday cheer — and for some, a frantic dash to the mall.Last-minute shoppers hit stores on Christmas Eve in a surge that is expected to top off an unexpectedly strong holiday shopping season.
Date: 12/24/2011 | Business
Dollar stores aim for shoppers on tight budgets
LOS ANGELES -- After four years without a job and two years living in a Motel 6 in Inglewood, Calif., Jay Payne is Christmas shopping for the first time in a long while.
Date: 12/24/2011 | Business
A few tips for the safe use of gift cards
My daughter participated in a Christmas gift exchange in her young adult usher ministry. Every teen but my daughter brought gift cards. She came with a movie to exchange. Her gift was not so popular.
Date: 12/22/2011 | Business
Holiday shoppers give retail sales another boost
NEW YORK -- Shoppers came out again to seriously shop last week, after taking breather from a record spending spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to one measure
Date: 12/21/2011 | Business
Firm boosts holiday shopping forecast
ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based research firm, is announcing it's upgrading its holiday sales forecast, a day after the nation's largest retail group boosted its outlook.
Date: 12/17/2011 | Business
Wal-Mart seeks permit to renovate building for new Lynnwood store
LYNNWOOD -- Wal-Mart filed its application with the city earlier this week to renovate an existing building for its newest store.It could take several weeks before the permit can be issued, Economic Development Director David Kleitsch said.
Date: 12/15/2011 | Local News
Consumer spending surges for holidays
NEW YORK -- Shoppers are again doing some holiday shopping after taking a break following their spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to data from research firm ShopperTrak.
Date: 12/15/2011 | Business
Work on bridge begins
New span should reduce traffic jams near Lakewood Crossing
Date: 12/13/2011 | Local News
Lowe's stands by decision to pull ads
Lowe's is planning to stick by its decision to yank its ads from a reality TV show about American Muslims despite the growing opposition the home improvement chain is facing over the move.
Date: 12/13/2011 | Business
U.S. online holiday sales up 15 percent to $24.6 billion
NEW YORK — U.S. online sales in the holiday season to date are up 15 percent to $24.6 billion, according to comScore.
Date: 12/11/2011 | Business
Costco's profits and costs are up slightly
Costco Wholesale Corp. sacrificed on profitability for the sake of popularity in its fiscal first quarter.
Date: 12/09/2011 | Business
Buying a TV? Look for orange if you want to be greeen
OK, pop quiz: Which TVs on the market are more efficient -- Energy Star or Energy Forward TVs?I bet I know what you're thinking: Energy Forward? Huh?
Date: 12/07/2011 | Eco Geek
Grocery prices mostly down in our check
Despite climbing prices for several food items, Snohomish County grocers held the line on prices last week.Earlier in the year, most stores were charging more than $30 for the seven food items that make up the small market basket of food items that Herald shoppers check each month.
Date: 12/04/2011 | Business
Business Briefs: Jobless tax falls for 2012; workers comp tax remains flat
Businesses will pay 13 percent less in unemployment taxes in 2012 and will see rates for workers compensation remain flat, state officials said Thursday. Gov. Chris Gregoire said a tax reform bill approved earlier this year will mean the unemployment tax rate will drop by 13 percent next year and...
Date: 12/02/2011 | Business
Layaway offers some advantages if you’re cautious about fine print
Tucked away in the back of Kmart stores there is a little room that is marked "layaway."The term may conjure up images of a time before credit cards became so much a part of daily life, but the traffic to this part of the store has been picking up in recent years.
Date: 11/27/2011 | Business
Black Friday retail sales up 7 percent over last year
The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start on Black Friday, with retail sales up 7 percent over last year, according to the most recent survey. Now stores just have to keep buyers coming back without the promise of door-buster savings.
Date: 11/26/2011 | Business
Snohomish delays plan for three-hour parking limits downtown
SNOHOMISH -- Drivers can park in downtown Snohomish for as long as they want.At least for now.
Date: 11/26/2011 | Local News
High cost of bargains
A shopper in Los Angeles pepper-sprayed her competition for an Xbox and scuffles broke out elsewhere around the U.S. as bargain-hunters crowded stores in an earlier-than-usual start to the madness known as Black Friday.
Date: 11/25/2011 | Nation & World
Online sales leap 20 percent on Black Friday
LOS ANGELES — Online shoppers didn't wait around until Cyber Monday to start their holiday shopping.
Date: 11/25/2011 | Business
Flower shop can rebuild
Everett Floral gets the permits it needs to rebuild after fire
Date: 11/25/2011 | Business
Stores will be open for holiday sales not long after the pie is served
Shoppers will have fewer hours to spare this Thanksgiving between eating turkey and gobbling up holiday sales.
Date: 11/23/2011 | Business
Drats! Not even a columnist can get an early peek at Black Friday inserts
In the bowels of this newspaper, behind locked doors, near the bazillion pound presses, are what all of us avid shoppers are keen to spy.Most of the advertising inserts about Black Friday sales, that will make our Thursday newspapers bulge, are already stored on pallets at The Herald.
Date: 11/21/2011 | Local News
Black Friday backlash as worker protests Target’s plans
MINNEAPOLIS -- Count your blessings, then get to work.
Date: 11/17/2011 | Business
Layaway plan fees can sometimes add up to more than credit charges, senator warns
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The return of layaway plans this holiday shopping season is raising concern that the break from credit cards might actually cost consumers far more.
Date: 11/14/2011 | Business
Business Briefs: Starbucks buys juice maker for new chain
Starbucks Corp. hopes to do for juice what it's done for coffee. The Seattle-based company that changed the way Americans drink their cup of joe said Thursday that it acquired juice maker Evolution Fresh Inc. for $30 million as part of a larger effort to move beyond just offering coffee. Starbucks...
Date: 11/11/2011 | Business
What will your pet find under the Christmas tree?
LOS ANGELES -- Just more than half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they'll spend an average of $46 on their animals, with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.
Date: 11/10/2011 | Business
GM profits fall in Europe and South America
Europe's economic woes are weighing on General Motors Co.'s profits. The company's third-quarter net income fell 15 percent from a year earlier, dragged down by losses in Europe and South America and weak earnings in all areas except North America and China. The company's shares fell 9 percent to...
Date: 11/10/2011 | Business
Macy’s to open at midnight on day after Thanksgiving
Macy's Inc., says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight on the day after Thanksgiving for the first time. It becomes the latest retailer to extend hours on Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.
Date: 11/01/2011 | Business
Sour American economy only spurs Halloween festivities
Unemployment, recession, terrorism.Or spiders, vampires and Charlie Sheen.There's more than enough to be afraid of in the real world, so given the option, America is choosing Door No. 2.We're turning fear into fun, and this Halloween we're spending money like never before.
Date: 10/28/2011 | Business
No city, county revenue at stake in liquor vote
OLYMPIA – A year ago elected officials throughout Snohomish County worried aloud about a Costco-inspired liquor privatization measure shorting city and county budgets of millions of dollars in revenue.Their silence this year on the company's Initiative 1183 is audible.
Date: 10/24/2011 | Local News
Who has cheapest groceries?
WinCo wins again; see how other stores stacked up
Date: 10/23/2011 | Business
State jobless rate drops in September
The statewide unemployment rate dropped slightly to 9.1 percent in September, the state Employment Security Department announced today. The drop, from 9.3 percent in August, came despite a loss of about 18,400 jobs last month, mostly due to continued cuts in government. Officials cited a survey of...
Date: 10/20/2011 | Business
Wal-Mart buys former Top Foods site near Everett Mall
EVERETT -- Wal-Mart has purchased the site of the former Top Foods supermarket near the Everett Mall for $10 million.Snohomish County tax records show the property was purchased earlier this year by the Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust.
Date: 10/19/2011 | Local News
I-1183 the second attempt to shift liquor sales to Costco, other private retailers
OLYMPIA -- Is this the year the state gets out the liquor sales business for good?Costco is investing millions of dollars to hasten the government's exit while a phalanx of beer, wine and liquor distributors is spending nearly as much to keep it in.
Date: 10/16/2011 | Local News
Retail sales rise strongly in U.S.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumers stepped up their spending on retail goods in September, a hopeful sign for the sluggish economy.
Date: 10/15/2011 | Business
Seasonal hiring in state expected to match 2010’s level
State employment officials say retailers in Washington will hire about the same number or fewer holiday workers in 2011 than they did last year.
Date: 10/08/2011 | Business
Bargains are still pulling in U.S. shoppers
NEW YORK -- September offered the latest sign that Americans will shop, but only when they think they're getting a deal.
Date: 10/07/2011 | Business
Costco profits increase 11 percent
ISSAQUAH -- Costco Wholesale Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income climbed 11 percent as the wholesale club operator made more money on membership fees and saw its sales rise.
Date: 10/06/2011 | Business
Pawnshop caters to high end buyers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Natural light streams through the store's windows to settle on an abstract painting stretching across the back wall. A diamond-studded Hublot watch, which rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z name-dropped on their recent album, sparkles inside a low-slung jewelry case.
Date: 09/30/2011 | Business
With Kindle Fire, Amazon’s digital ambitions burn
SAN FRANCISCO -- Amazon's unveiling of the Kindle Fire tablet computer sends a bright-hot message: The online retailer is ready to rival iPad maker Apple in an effort to be the world's top digital content provider.
Date: 09/30/2011 | Business
Hobby Lobby to open Everett store next year
Hobby Lobby Stores, a chain of arts and crafts stores, has signed a lease for a new location in Everett, the company said Monday. It said construction already has begun on a 55,500-square-foot facility on Evergreen Way off 100th Street SW that had been occupied by Cost Cutter. The company recently...
Date: 09/20/2011 | Business
Holiday sales projected to increase 3 percent
The International Council of Shopping Centers said it expects holiday sales to increase 3 percent. That's a slower pace than the 4.1 percent gain in 2010 as shoppers are expected to remain worried about the economy.
Date: 09/17/2011 | Business
Consumer purchases are in decline
WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumers grew more cautious last month amid wild stock market swings, zero job growth and heightened concerns that the economy has weakened.
Date: 09/15/2011 | Business
Target website, stores swamped by designer sale
MINNEAPOLIS -- Missoni madness swept store shelves and crashed Target's website Tuesday as the retailer launched its latest designer partnership. Missoni for Target includes everything from cardigans and ballet flats to sheets and luggage from the Italian fashion house known for its bold zig-zag...
Date: 09/14/2011 | Business
Brand-name bargains
Shift in spending sends shoppers flocking to outlet malls
Date: 09/08/2011 | Business
Service firms hire at faster pace in August
Service firms that employ 90 percent of the U.S. workforce expanded at a slightly faster pace in August. But the sector remains too weak to help an economy that is barely growing and struggling to create jobs. The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index for service companies...
Date: 09/07/2011 | Business
Retail stores report solid gains for August
NEW YORK -- Americans kept shopping in August despite a month of bad news.
Date: 09/02/2011 | Business
Nine companies recall fuel gel for firepots
WASHINGTON — Nine companies are recalling about 2 million bottles and jugs of the gel fuel used in outdoor patio decorations known as firepots because of the risk of serious burns.
Date: 09/01/2011 | Nation & World
JCPenney pulls 'I'm too pretty to do homework' shirt
LOS ANGELES — JCPenney has stopped selling a shirt after shoppers expressed outrage over what they called an inappropriate and sexist message.
Date: 08/31/2011 | Nation & World
Hard times compel shoppers to make smarter spending decisions
If you're feeling "bruised," "remorseful" or particularly "introspective" these days, wait before taking your woes to a shrink. First try changing your grocery shopping habits.
Date: 08/28/2011 | Business
Everett Target adding produce to grocery line-up
EVERETT -- The Everett Target store is undergoing remodeling to expand its grocery section and upgrade several other departments.The biggest change in its grocery section will be the addition of a produce area.
Date: 08/28/2011 | Business
Gasoline prices in decline as other costs continue to grow
WASHINGTON -- More expensive gas, food, clothes and other necessities are squeezing consumers who are already struggling with stagnant pay and worried about a weak economy.
Date: 08/19/2011 | Business
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