Page Title

Monday July 23, 6:43 pm Eastern Time

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - Nike Inc. is recalling about 425,000 pairs of its cross-training shoes because a sharp metal strip can protrude from the shoe's heel and cause injuries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday.

Nike, the world's No. 1 athletic shoe and apparel maker, is recalling several models of Jordan Trunner cross-training shoes, including the

Trunner, Trunner Mid, Trunner Bubble, and Trunner 2000, the CPSC said.

The company received six reports of the metal strip jutting out from the Bubble model, which caused five cuts to the lower leg that required stitches, as well as one injury report on the Trunner model shoe, the CPSC said.

No injury reports were received for the Trunner Mid or Trunner 2000 model shoes, the agency said. Consumers should stop using the shoes and contact Nike at 800-344-6453 or www.nikebiz.com to receive free replacement shoes, the agency said.

Major athletic shoe and department stores nationwide sold these shoes from July 1999 through July 2001 for between $90 and $125.

Wednesday July 25, 12:40 pm Eastern Time

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Parents and teenagers plan to spend about 4 percent less on back-to-school needs like school supplies, shoes and clothes in 2001, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The survey by American Express Co. of 700 adults and teenagers who range in age from 12 to 17, showed these consumers plan to spend an average of $527, down from $548 in 2000.

On average, parents' budget per child is nearly even with a year-ago at $426, while teenagers will spend an average of $101, down 19 percent from a year earlier.

Twenty percent of parents plan to start their shopping in July, compared with 26 percent in 2000. More than half of parents said they will wait until August to begin their shopping.

Thirty-four percent of parents surveyed said they will do most of their apparel shopping at mass merchandisers like Kmart Corp , Target Corp. or Wal-Mart Stores Inc..

In contrast, 36 percent of teens plan to shop at specialty stores such as Gap Inc. or Limited Inc.. Among all teens surveyed, the top five clothing brands are Tommy Hilfiger Corp., Gap's Old Navy, Gap, Adidas and Nike Inc..

Tuesday July 24, 9:54 am Eastern Time

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., July 24 (Reuters) - Internet and catalog retailer Spiegel Inc. on Tuesday reported an 80 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, in line with the company's guidance, due to soft consumer demand and higher chargeoffs from credit card operations.

The Downers Grove, Illinois-based retailer reported second-quarter earnings fell to $5 million, or 4 cents a share, from $25.8 million, or 20 cents, earned in the year ago quarter.

Earlier this month, Spiegel had warned of lower than expected second-quarter revenues and repeated earnings would fall in a range of 2

cents to 5 cents a share. Analysts' consensus earnings estimate was 4 cents a share, according to market research firm Thomson Financial/First Call. Second-quarter total revenue fell 4 percent to $831.9 million, which includes a 5 percent decrease in net sales and a 4 percent decline in finance revenue, the retailer said.

Spiegel sells apparel and home furnishings to customers through catalogs, and more than 580 specialty retail and outlet stores including Eddie Bauer and Spiegel stores. It also operates eight e-commerce sites, including eddiebauer.com, newport-news.com and spiegel.com.

Net sales for the quarter included a 6 percent decline in direct sales and a 4 percent drop in retail-store sales. In direct sales, a 61 percent increase in e-commerce sales was offset by a 15 percent decrease in catalog sales. The decline in retail-store sales reflected a 9 percent drop in Eddie Bauer's comparable-store sales, offset somewhat by sales growth in outlet stores.

Looking ahead, Spiegel repeated its previous guidance for the second half of the year, which ends December 29, 2001. The retailer said it expects revenue growth of about 7 to 8 percent and an earnings increase of about 45 to 50 percent for the six-month period compared to the same period last year, with the earnings improvement weighted to the fourth quarter. For the third quarter ending September 29, 2001, revenue is expected to increase by about 3 to 5 percent and earnings are projected to be flat with last year's third-quarter earnings of 10 cents per share, it said in a news release.

Shares of Spiegel added 8 cents to $10.28 in early trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has outperformed the

Standard & Poor's retail index by about 33 percent over the last year.