Retail Bulletin

Consumer Confidence Falls
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® fell to 59.7 in March, down from 68.0 in February. The Present Situation Index decreased to 57.9 from 61.4. The Expectations Index declined to 60.9 from 72.4 last month as consumers’ appraisal of current conditions and short-term outlook dropped in March.

Consumers saying business conditions are good decreased to 16 percent from 17 percent.
Consumers stating business conditions are bad increased to 29 percent from 28 percent.
Consumers claiming jobs are plentiful decreased to 9 percent from 10 percent, but those claiming jobs are hard to get edged down to 36 percent from 37 percent.
Consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months decreased to 14 percent from 18 percent, while those anticipating business conditions to worsen increased to 18 percent from 17 percent.

YOU MUST HAVE JAVASCRIPT ENABLED TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

U.S. Jewelry CPI Dips Again
The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry eased again in February, falling 3 percent year on year to 175.9 points, just slightly lower than January’s reading of 176.7 points. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that February marked 26 consecutive months of a reading of more than 170 points. The CPI for all product categories combined in February rose 2 percent year on year to 232.77 points, which was a new high.

U.S. Jewelry Store Sales Jump
U.S. jewelry store sales rose 15 percent year on year to $1.95 billion during the month of January, marking the highest total for the first month of the year, as tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Advanced monthly sales for February revealed that department store sales fell 8 percent year on year to $12.44 billion, while U.S. retail sales in total for February rose 4 percent to $339.3 billion. Retail trade sales increased 5 percent year on year. Nonstore retailers experienced a 16 percent surge in sales.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), meanwhile, determined that retail sales edged up just 0.7 percent year on year in February, noting that the sale of clothing and accessories was basically flat compared with one year ago. “It may be too early to measure the impact of the payroll tax hike and higher gasoline prices on consumer spending. However, this portends a good, but not great, first quarter for retailers as consumers continue to breathe life into the economy,” said Jack Kleinhenz, NRF’s chief economist.

Tiffany & Co. Sales Rise
Tiffany & Co. reported year-on-year results for the fourth quarter and full year that ended on January 31, 2013:
For the fourth quarter:

Worldwide net sales increased 4 percent year on year to $1.24 billion.
Same-store sales were flat.
Internet and catalog sales rose 6 percent.
By region, Tiffany & Co.’s sales in the Americas rose 2 percent year on year to $620 million. However, same-store sales fell 2 percent and the retailer’s comparable-store sales at its New York flagship store declined 3 percent.

For the full year:

Worldwide net sales increased 4 percent to $3.8 billion.
Total sales in the Americas rose 2 percent to $1.8 billion, representing 48 percent of 2012 worldwide sales.

Tiffany & Co.’s guidance for the current fiscal year anticipates worldwide sales growth of 6 percent to 8 percent in U.S dollars, with the strongest performance in the Asia-Pacific region. The company expects earnings in the range of $3.43 to $3.53 per diluted share. Tiffany & Co. plans to increase its inventory level by 5 percent.

Signet Reports Sales Gain
Signet Jewelers Ltd. released preliminary results for the fiscal year that ended on February 2, 2013:

Total sales were up by 6 percent.
Same-store sales increased by 3 percent.
In the U.S., total sales were $3,273.9 million, representing an 8 percent increase over $3,034.1 million in sales for fiscal year 2012. Same-store sales were up by 4 percent.
In the U.K., total sales were $709.5 million, a decline of less than 1 percent compared to $715.1 million in sales for fiscal year 2012. Same-store sales increased by just 0.3 percent.

Berkshire Hathaway Jewelry Revenue Increases
Berkshire Hathaway reported that the company posted a profit of $4.56 billion in the fourth quarter, driven in large part by gains in derivatives which surged to $1.4 billion from $163 million. The company’s retail division, which includes Ben Bridge Jeweler, Borsheims Fine Jewelry, Helzberg Diamonds and the Richline Group, recorded a revenue increase of 4 percent year on year to $3.7 billion.

Sotheby’s Revenue Down
Sotheby’s reported year-on-year 2012 fiscal year results as follows:

Revenue dropped 8 percent year on year to $768.5 million, attributed to an 11 percent drop in auction commission revenue to $79.4 million.
Consolidated sales in 2012 hit $5.4 billion.
Jewelry auction total in 2012 reached a record $460.5 million.

HSNi Reports Sales Up
HSNi Inc.’s sales for the fourth quarter that ended on December 31, 2012 rose 7 percent year on year to $982.9 million.