Executive Business Briefing

Here is a look at more of Friday's top business stories:

Holiday shoppers expected to flood stores

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The International Mass Retail Association said one in 10 Americans, or about 11 percent of the 1,000 holiday shoppers it polled, expect to do most of their holiday shopping on Black Friday.

The group said its latest consumer survey showed 36 percent of those polled expect buy the majority of their gifts within the first two weeks of December, up from 29 percent last year.

Just 2 percent expect to wait until Christmas Eve to do most of their shopping, and 12 percent have already finished this year, similar to last year's findings.

IMRA President Robert J. Verdisco, said, "Holiday shoppers are already out in force in mass retail stores, and we expect the pace will quicken on Friday.

"Mass retailers have offered excellent value throughout the year, and shoppers are recognizing this. We have also made shopping convenient and enjoyable. These are the factors shoppers consider essential year-round and especially in the busy holiday season. They want to find the right products at the right prices, as quickly, easily and enjoyably as possible," Verdisco added.

IMRA members represent over $1 trillion in sales annually and operate over 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers nationwide.

Poll suggests shoppers may spend less

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The Gallup Organization said Americans are projected to spend $769 on gifts this holiday season, about $51 less than last year, which in turn was lower than 2000 and 1999.

According to recent Gallup Poll about 25 percent of the shoppers questioned said they will spend less on Christmas gifts this year than they did last year. A slightly lower number, 19 percent, said they'll spend more.

Gallup, which has been tracking Americans' attitudes about gift buying for the past month based on interviews with more than 3000 consumers, said the results show a slight improvement in consumers' projected spending as of the last weekend before Thanksgiving, but not enough to bring the projected average back in line with last year's.

The general economic context for this year's holiday retail season is not auspicious, Gallop said. Last year's holiday season was marked by a general pattern of increasing optimism about the economy.

The latest poll showed the percentage of shoppers perceiving that the economy was getting better jumped from 30 percent in November 2001 to 49 percent by January 2002, which no doubt was a factor in helping retail sales last year.

The Gallup polls this year, while reflecting a positive increase in consumer ratings of the economy as of November 24, did not yet detect a major resurgence of economic optimism as occurred last year.

"The current pattern of projected spending continues the downward trend we have measured since 1999, in which Americans estimate lower and lower gift expenditures each year," said Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of The Gallup Poll.

"In 1999 Americans said that they would be spending almost $900 on gifts, compared to this year's $769. Still, the recent uptick in the projected spending as we move into the Thanksgiving weekend suggests at least the possibility of a loosening of the purse strings as December approaches," Newport added.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

FAO expects to miss sales and earnings estimates

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Nov 29 (UPI) -- Children's specialty retailer FAO Inc. warned it expects to miss previously issued sales and earnings estimates for the year because of a sluggish economy.

The operator of the FAO Schwarz chain as well as Zany Brainy and The Right Start did not provide specific numbers, but said a sluggish economy hurt third-quarter results and is now having an impact on the fourth quarter. This will force it to lower 2002 forecasts when it reports third-quarter results in mid-December.

Jerry R. Welch, president and chief executive officer, said, "In making this announcement, we are attempting to reduce investor expectations about how our business may perform in the coming months based on the sales trends we have seen in the third and early fourth quarter.

"We remain pleased with customer reception to our store-in-a-store concept, which places a full-size Right Start store inside an existing Zany Brainy store and we have met our plans to have 95-100 Right Start boutiques operational inside Zany Brainy stores by this time," he said.

The company said it appears that its merchandising initiatives will not be sufficient to allow it to meet its previously issued fiscal 2002 guidance.

The company also said it plans to update 2003 guidance after evaluating the fourth quarter and economic outlook.

GE unit buys ABB's Structured Finance Business

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- GE Commercial Finance, a unit of General Electric, said it has completed its acquisition of the structured finance business of ABB.

ABB and GE Commercial Finance had entered into a definitive agreement for GE Commercial Finance to acquire the Structured Finance business on Sept. 4.

The ABB structured finance business includes global infrastructure financing, equipment leasing and financing businesses. These operations serve customers principally in Europe and the United States.

ABB's structured finance businesses will become part of three units of GE Commercial Finance: GE Structured Finance, GE European Equipment Finance and GE Vendor Financial Services.