Target, Retail | featured news

A bevy of big-name retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best-Buy Co. and Target Corp., are teaming up to create a company that will give customers another way to make purchases: with their cellphones.

Target (TGT) and Macy’s (M) announced that June same store sales were below analyst estimates. Sales at Target increased by 2.1 percent, below expectations of a 2.8 percent gain. Macy’s reported a 1.2 percent increase in same-store sales, well below the estimate of 2.3 percent.

Target Corp. said Thursday a key sales figure rose 1.1 percent in April, but it fell short of analysts' expectations. Analysts expected the discount retailer to post a 2.8 percent increase in stores opened at least one year, according to Thomson Reuters. That metric is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Target Corp. is reporting a 5.2 percent drop in earnings for the fourth quarter, as the retailer pushed big discounts to get tight-fisted shoppers to buy during the holiday season.

Social networking website Facebook is dipping into the brick-and-mortar world by selling gift cards at retailer Target that can be used toward purchasing virtual products for games hosted on the site.

Target meets analyst expectations with its fiscal second quarter earnings.

Target Corp. said Tuesday it was pulling its Valentine’s Day “Message Bears” from store shelves after California’s attorney general raised concerns that the toys have illegal levels of lead.

Target's earnings rose 18%, snapping a streak of eight quarterly declines, as the discount retailer saw improvement in its retail and credit-card operations. Saks swung to a $1.9 million profit.

Retailers Target Corp and Saks Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday as they clamped down on expenses and inventory to offset falling sales, sending shares higher.