By Caleb Hellerman
CNN Medical Producer
Mark Wooten, 41, was devastated when his supervisor told him in November that he was being laid off from his job as a forklift operator in Norfolk, Virginia. It was the first time in his adult life he'd been out work; just a month earlier, he and his wife Caprice had moved into a new apartment with their two 15-year-old daughters.
"It's hard," Mark said. "We've made tremendous cutbacks."
When the Wootens sat down to plan a survival strategy, they agreed to make big changes. But there was one unconventional change: They hit the gym with a vengeance.
Caprice, 40, a hospital technician, had been struggling to stick with an exercise routine. With time to spare, Mark told her he would lend a hand; he needed to work off his own stress.
"Me being out of work and trying to file for
unemployment, going through hard times and tribulations -- I told [Caprice], 'You can be my inspiration, and I can be yours. We'll keep each other motivated, even on days we don't want nothing to do with the gym,' " Mark said.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Whole Foods Market Inc(
WFMI.O) posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates and forecast 2009 earnings ahead of analyst estimates, sending its shares up nearly 8 percent after-hours.
The grocery chain, which specializes in organic, natural and gourmet foods, said it was finding ways to cut costs and as shoppers pare more expensive items from their lists.
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TORONTO - Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC) reported a fourth-quarter profit boost of 14.4 per cent as sales revenue increased on the expansion of its store network and robust pharmacy sales.
Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 amounted to $173 million or 80 cents per share, versus $151 million or 70 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Overall sales rose 15.1 per cent to $2.5 billion while sales at stores open at least a year were up 3.6 per cent.
Shoppers chief executive Jurgen Schreiber said the company was pleased to "deliver sector-leading growth in these challenging times."
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NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Discount retailer Dollar General Corp said on Tuesday fourth-quarter sales at stores open at least a year rose 9.4 percent, and it plans to accelerate the opening of new locations.
The retailer also said total sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Jan. 30, were $2.85 billion, up 11.2 percent from a year earlier.
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Ross Stores Inc.’s same-store sales in January fell 1 percent year over year while overall sales were up 4 percent.
Pleasanton-based Ross (NASDAQ: ROST) on Thursday reported sales of $365 million for the four weeks ending Jan. 31, compared with sales of $350 million in the comparable period of 2008.
Ross put its sales for the fourth quarter ending Jan. 31 at $1.73 billion, up 5 percent compared with $1.65 billion for the comparable period last year. Same-store sales for the fourth quarter were down 1 percent versus a year ago.
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Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) --
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, reported January sales that exceeded its projection and said it will stop giving a monthly forecast, citing difficulty in predicting consumer behavior.
Revenue from U.S. stores open at least a year advanced 2.1 percent last month as discounted groceries and $4 medicines brought in more customers, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said today in a statement. That beat Wal-Mart’s forecast for no change to a 2 percent increase.
The company said it is switching to quarterly forecasts and anticipates comparable-store sales in the U.S. will rise 1 percent to 3 percent in the period from Jan. 31 through May 1. Last month, Wal-Mart reduced prices on hamburger buns, Hormel Foods Corp. chili with beans and Sony Corp. flat-panel televisions to grab customers eating and entertaining more at home.
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Produce sales at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores have increased more than 11 percent since its January introduction of 98-cent Produce Packs, according to the Tesco banner.
Designed to appeal to customers looking for fresh fruits and vegetables on a budget, the 98-cent Produce Packs are delivered fresh daily to stores and currently include grape tomatoes, yellow onions, green bell peppers, pears, lemons and oranges. Customers can always choose from six fruits and vegetables that will rotate depending on seasonality and availability.
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