Financial News

MEMPHIS — Fred's on Thursday reported a 3% increase in sales for the five weeks ended April 2, reaching $188.8 million.

Comparable-store sales for the month rose 0.7%, versus an increase of 3.6% in the same period last year.

WASHINGTON — Retailers may be worried that the late Easter holiday could negatively impact sales, but a new survey conducted on behalf of the National Retail Federation noted that consumers intend to spend more this year than in 2010.

ISSAQUAH, Wsh. — Costco experienced a 17% increase in its monthly sales ended April 3, totaling nearly $7.2 billion.

Costco was positively impacted by the calendar shift; the company's five-week period for March included 35 days this year, compared with 34 days last year. The wholesale retailer noted the comparable-store sales saw an 11% boost. Excluding such effects as inflation in gasoline prices and strengthening foreign currencies, which had a positive impact on comparable sales, Costco said comps would have increased 7%.

PITTSBURGH — GNC Holdings on Wednesday announced the closing of its initial public offering of 25.9 million shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16 per share. GNC's Class A common stock began trading Friday, April 1, on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GNC."

CHICAGO — U.S. consumers that opted to become more thrifty during the recession will face rising food costs with ease as they've mastered ways to stretch their money, according to new research by NPD.

The research group's Economy Tracker found that nearly 3-out-of-4 consumers (74%) strongly agreed that they expect coupons and special deals will be much more important in deciding what to buy, while 67% said that they would shop less in general and 53% said that they would be buying in bulk.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Most retail segments showed solid year-over-year retail growth in March, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Drug maker Merck is looking to boost its eye care portfolio by acquiring a company focused on developing and commercializing ophthalmic products. The deal carries a cash value of about $430 million.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday reported March sales of $6.3 billion, an increase of 7.6%. Duane Reade stores, acquired in April 2010, contributed 280 basis points to the total sales increase for the month.

Total front-end sales increased 8.4% in March, including 470 basis points from Duane Reade stores. Despite the negative impact of this year’s later Easter, which falls on April 24 compared with April 4 last year, comparable-store front-end sales increased 1.6%. Customer traffic in comparable stores increased 0.8%, while basket size increased 0.8%.