Retail Roundup: Dollar Tree Tangled in Confetti String Mess, 700 QVC Jobs Cut, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Dollar Tree tangled in confetti string mess -- When Dollar Tree Stores Inc. sold an estimated 1.8 million cans of novelty confetti string, a party didn't follow; a grim case with the Environmental Protection Agency did. The nation's largest dollar-store chain is set to pay a $120,000 civil penalty for selling aerosol cans of Zany String between September 2004 and May 2005. Cans of Zany String were found to use a propellant known as R-22 Freon, a Class II Ozone Depleting Substance currently banned from certain uses. [Source: WOWT.com]

700 jobs cut at QVC --- QVC Inc. is eliminating 900 jobs and creating roughly 200 new positions as the company revamps its structure after another tough quarter. The retailer, which markets its products through television and the Internet, plans to save at least $30 million next year by downsizing and moving much of its operations from Pennsylvania to its South Carolina center. "I had hoped we could avoid layoffs as we pursued our long-term growth strategies, but after witnessing the continuing deterioration in the economy, I came to the reluctant conclusion that this was not going to be possible," says QVC CEO Mike George. [Source: internetretailer]

Macy's localizing select stores to boost sales --- After a two-year effort to clothe the hundreds of department stores Macy's acquired in 2005 with a universal "Macy's" feel, the chain is attempting to bring back the local flavor many of the stores had before being bought out. In Chicago, for example, Macy's is beginning to re-order some of the high-end merchandise it did away with when it took over Marshall Field's. "The hope for the future at Macy's could indeed lie in its nascent localization initiative," says Carol Levenson, a bond analyst at Gimme Credit in Chicago. [Source: Chicago Tribune]

Barack Obama could impact baggy-pants sales --- Michelle Obama isn't the only future White House resident whose fashion preferences are affecting retailers: Barack Obama's dislike for overly baggy pants could influence some men to vary the apparel they buy. "Brothers should pull up their pants," he said during a recent MTV appearance. "You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. Some people might not want to see your underwear; I'm one of them."Obama wouldn't be the first president to sway popular fashion: It is widely believed that John F. Kennedy's predilection for going hatless influenced Americans to ditch caps themselves. [Source: New York Times]