Starbucks Corp. is launching a smartphone application that allows customers with Android phones to buy things with a wave of their phones. The Seattle-based company launched similar applications nationwide for BlackBerry and iPhone and iPod touch in January. Customers can pay by holding their mobile
device in front of a scanner that registers the on-screen barcode. The application also allows customers to load their Starbucks loyalty card accounts, check card balances and find stores nearby, and it notifies customers of promotions and other discounts. Starbucks already uses the technology at its 6,800 company-owned stores and more than 1,000 cafes within Target stores. Beginning this summer it is rolling out to roughly 1,000 Starbucks stores inside Safeway supermarkets.
Best Buy earnings beat expectations
A renewed focus at Best Buy on hot-selling gadgets and a larger presence in China pushed the retailer’s first-quarter results beyond what Wall Street had expected, vaulting shares as much a 7 percent higher Tuesday. Yet even as industry analysts lauded the nation’s largest specialty electronics store for its ability to keep costs down and maintain its financial outlook, they also see a threat to margins going forward, with consumers increasingly heading online or to discount stores for the best deals. Mainstays such as flat-screen televisions and DVDs are no longer selling as they once did, and Best Buy has shifted quickly to capitalize on consumer favorites such as smart phones and the iPad2 to draw them back in, either in stores or to the company website.
Apple retailer next CEO at J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney Co. is looking to bite into the magic of Apple. The mid-brow department store chain has named Ron Johnson, who pioneered Apple Inc.’s retail stores, its next CEO. He will succeed Myron Ullman III in November, the retailer said Tuesday. During his 11 years at Apple, Johnson led Apple’s retail stores and has been credited with developing the popular Genius Bar, where customers can get hands-on technical support for their Mac, iPad or other devices. Johnson, 52, will report to Ullman, who will become executive chairman.
Bernanke urges increase for debt limit
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Republicans to support raising the nation’s borrowing limit. He said threatening to block the increase to gain deeper federal spending cuts could backfire and worsen the economy. Even a short delay in making payments on the nation’s debt would cause severe disruptions in financial markets, damage the dollar and raise serious doubts about the nation’s creditworthiness, Bernanke said. It wasn’t Bernanke’s first warning to Republicans, who are vowing to block an increase that doesn’t include a deal to slash government spending by the same amount. But it was his most explicit.
From Herald news services
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