Same-store sales rise for Zumiez Inc.

Zumiez Inc. of Everett reported sales during May rose to $22.7 million, up nearly 52 percent from the same month last year. At stores open more than a year, sales rose 11 percent compared with last year. Zumiez ended the May sales period with 258 stores across the nation. New stores and strong sales of clothing for men and boys especially helped drive the sales figures for the month, the company said.

Zumiez makes offer for new CFO

Zumiez also seems to have found its next chief financial officer. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has offered the job to Trevor Lang, who has served as vice president of finance for Carter’s, the baby clothing company. Zumiez’s offer to Lang includes a salary of $250,000, the chance for annual bonuses and a signing bonus of $155,000. He will receive a stock grant and the option to purchase more stock. Zumiez former CFO, Brenda Morris, resigned for family reasons this spring.

Netherlands buys heart starters

Cardiac Science’s automated external heart defibrillators will be installed at train stations around the Netherlands after that nation’s train operator ordered 220 of the Bothell company’s devices. More than 350 similar Cardiac Science devices already are in place in railway stations in England, as well as in several mass-transit centers in the United States.

White House lowers forecast

The White House on Wednesday lowered its forecast for growth this year even as it slightly upgraded its outlook for unemployment. Under the new forecast, gross domestic product, or GDP, will grow by 2.3 percent as measured from the fourth quarter of last year to the fourth quarter of this year. That’s down from a previous projection of 2.9 percent. The first three months of 2007 got off to a weak start, the main reason for the downgrade.

Worker productivity advance meager

The productivity of U.S. workers slowed in the first three months of this year but wage pressures eased as well, providing evidence that inflation is being restrained. The Labor Department reported that the amount of output per hour of work for nonfarm businesses rose at annual rate of 1 percent in the January-March quarter.

Automakers seek mileage reprieve

The heads of Detroit’s auto industry asked Congress on Wednesday to reconsider a proposal to increase fuel standards that the automakers say could hurt their industry. The leaders of GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group discussed the effect of health care, trade and energy policies on their firms and asked House and Senate leaders to look at alternatives to a proposed overhaul of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for vehicles.

From Herald staff

and news services