Saks

The retailer was the last company to settle a suit with the Humane Society, which sued several stores, claiming their advertisements falsely described their fur coats and other fur-trimmed outerwear.

Heavy snowstorms took out a chunk of February's sales, but retailers still managed to post stronger numbers. Shoppers appear to be coming back -- however slowly and carefully -- and spending again on non-essentials like clothes and housewares.

Merchants showed a 4% increase in comparable sales (for...

Saks says business is getting better in the luxury department-store space, but the retailer will be looking at the Internet and cheaper Off 5th outlet stores for growth this year. Saks narrowed its fourth-quarter net loss to $4.6 million, meeting expectations.

Macy's reported net income of $466 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $4.77 billion for that period in 2008. The retailer has been occupied for years with absorbing the regional department stores it acquired when it merged with May Co. Now, it's ready to focus on the future.

The retail recovery is still going in fits and starts, but investors are betting that one beaten-down sector really is coming back: upscale department stores. Wall Street is expecting good news from Nordstrom, Saks and Bloomingdale's parent Macy's, which report earnings next week.

Retailers ended a rough fiscal year with better-than-expected sales in January. According to a tally of major retailers by Thomson Reuters, comparable sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.3%. That led some companies to boost their guidance for their upcoming year-end earnings reports.

If stores seem picked over this year, don't be fooled into thinking you just missed a crazy sale. It's deliberate. Retailers expect growth and profits in 2010 won't come from new stores, but rather from merchandising the existing ones to the hilt -- with less, but more exclusive merchandise.

High-end retailers are seeing their wealthy core customers return at last. But the "aspirational" shoppers who bought occasional tastes of luxury are staying away, as the effects of the recession linger in their wallets, and their mindsets.

The final numbers are in, and strong online sales, picky late shoppers and targeted discounting helped lift December retail sales above last year's totals -- but it won't be enough to put 2009 in the plus column. January's clearance sales won't be much help either; they will be shorter and more thinly stocked this year.

The retail sector will likely be weak in the next few years, as excessive consumption and over-expansion face the reality of tighter credit and weak employment. But Saks will likely be one outstanding exception.