www.miami.com Posted on Mon, Feb. 03, 2003 BY ELAINE WALKER ewalker@herald.com

The department store hopes Florida-themed merchandise, plus new designs and consumer-friendly tech, will win over more customers.

CURB APPEAL: Plans for the renovation of the Dadeland Burdines include a new street-front facade that will hide a parking garage to be built in front of the store.

The idea of a department store with shopping carts, central checkout lines and price-check scanners may sound strange. But prepare yourself for the Burdines of the future.

These services, typically found in discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target, started popping up late last year in a half-dozen Burdines and Macy's stores around Florida, as well as 45 department stores around the country owned by their parent company, Federated Department Stores.

They're part of a major makeover, which comes at a time when department stores are fighting for their lives amid slumping sales and increased competition. Even a local retail institution like Burdines, whose first store opened in 1898 in downtown Miami, risks being relegated to obscurity if it doesn't make its stores and merchandise more attractive and consumer-friendly.

''The department store age is slowly fading,'' said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group. ``The customers who go to department stores are aging, and young people don't find them an attractive place to shop. They're wonderful stores, but they're becoming irrelevant.''

Federated is trying to avoid that fate by reinventing the traditional department store, a strategy that is being tested at Burdines and all of its other chains except Bloomingdale's. The new look also includes a hipper juniors' department, expanded fitting-room lounges and improved signage.

At the same time, Burdines Chairman Tim Adams is trying to separate the Miami-based chain from the competition by putting a renewed emphasis on its roots as the Florida store. That means offering unique merchandise to meet the needs of South Florida's distinctive climate and lifestyle. At Burdines you'll find an abundance of linen and shorts on the shelves in the winter, for example, and home accessories ranging from crystal glasses to linens decorated with palm-tree motifs.

''We want to be the best retailer in the state of Florida for serving the Florida lifestyle,'' said Adams, who took over as chairman and chief executive in April 2001 but hasn't spoken to the media until now about his vision for Miami's oldest department store. ``Burdines still has a knowledge of this market and this customer that our competitors can't match.''

The key to Burdines' future will be how well the chain can execute that strategy at a time when the department-store industry is facing pressure from every direction and consolidation is the new strategy.

Federated on Sunday began merging its Rich's and Macy's stores in the greater Atlanta area. A total of 28 stores in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina will now operate under the brand name Rich's-Macy's. The move means major store closings and layoffs for the Atlanta area, where Rich's has been a retail cornerstone since 1867, in much the same way Burdines has been in South Florida.

Analysts suggest that what happened in Atlanta is a sign of things to come for Burdines and the other regional department store brands owned by Federated. They say there's no need to have multiple chains when the merchandise inside the stores is virtually identical.

''In the long term, they're going to run two brands: Macy's and Bloomingdale's,'' said Walter Loeb, a longtime retail analyst. ``Eventually Burdines is going to become Macy's. It's going to take time. Whether it's going to be two or five years, they're going to do it.''

While strong Burdines' management and execution of the Florida strategy may forestall that consolidation for years, Loeb and other analysts argue that financial pressures on Federated's bottom line and industry trends are going to be virtually impossible to overcome.

Federated said last month it expects sales and earnings to be essentially flat for 2003. The company has been battling declining sales and profits for the last couple of years. Same-store sales, considered the best measure of a retailer's health, were down 3.1 percent for the first 48 weeks of 2002. Federated will report full-year results later this month.

Burdines' sales have also been declining. The company posted sales of $1.39 billion in 2001, the most recent figures available, down from $1.47 billion in 2000.

But Adams says Burdines continues to remain one of Federated's top-performing divisions, and company executives deny there are any plans for a Burdines-Macy's consolidation in Florida.

''Florida has had some challenges the last couple of years, but in our view the market appears to be getting healthy again,'' said Terry Lundgren, Federated's president and chief operating officer. 'Burdines' performance has been a little bit off, but when the market comes back they will come back strong. We consider it a very successful division and a very important part of our overall mix.''

UNIQUE CASE

Lundgren and others at Federated say Atlanta is a special case because six malls had Macy's and Rich's stores, plus the assortments at both chains were strikingly similar. By comparison, in Miami-Dade and Broward counties only Aventura Mall has both a Macy's and Burdines.

''The situation in Atlanta is very different than in Florida,'' said Susan Kronick, group president at Federated in charge of the regional chains and former Burdines chairman. ``We think both [Burdines and Macy's] offer Florida consumers a unique and distinct experience.''

That distinction goes back to Burdines' early days, when Roddey Burdine first coined the term ''Sunshine Fashion'' to refer to clothes that couldn't be found anywhere else because of their design, color or fabric. Then in the early '80s when Burdines faced increased competition from Northern competitors like Macy's, the ''Florida strategy'' became a deliberate corporate move to maintain market share.

Burdines still likes to brag about how it's the first in the nation to unveil a large assortment of spring merchandise when most retailers still have sweaters and heavy wool clothes on their racks.

But Kronick acknowledges the distinctions may be lost on some consumers, something Burdines needs to change.

''I think we have the obligation to make our marketing clearer so we get credit for many of the things we do,'' Kronick said. ``People assume the stores are the same because they see similar brands. But there are a lot of differences between Burdines and Macy's in the color, weight and the timing of the merchandise arrival.''

Customers such as Bobbi Madden of Coral Springs often can't put their fingers on what it is they like about Burdines. But they know they like it.

''It's my number one store,'' said Madden, who dropped into Burdines at Miami International Mall on a break from a business meeting. ``I always find what I want here.''

Emphasizing Burdines' unique attributes will be a key focus for Adams, a 25-year Federated veteran who came to Miami from The Bon Marché in Seattle where he had served as president since 1998.

During his second stint at Macy's West, Adams moved up the merchandising ranks. Along the way he earned the respect of then-Chairman Michael Steinberg, who recommended Adams for advancement within Federated.

''Tim is a very collected person who thinks issues through, comes to a conclusion and sticks with it,'' said Steinberg, who is retired but still serves as a consultant for Federated. ``He's very aggressive and tenacious, but at the same time he's quite an understated person.''

That personality is why Adams, 49, spent his first year on the job at Burdines visiting stores, meeting many of the chain's 10,000 employees and listening to their ideas. But now he's trying to make his mark, identifying what he sees as Burdines' top priorities and mapping out what needs to be done:

• Pricing: Move away from the reliance on constant coupons and sales, focusing instead on attracting customers by building the brand image and offering everyday value.

• Merchandise assortment: Make it more concise and easier for consumers to shop without getting overwhelmed.

• Florida store: Emphasize Burdines' image as the Florida store by bringing in more products suited for the unique lifestyle of the area and by marketing that image.

HUGE RENOVATION

Another key issue for Adams will be overseeing a massive renovation of the company's Dadeland flagship, the largest suburban department store in the United States. Federated late last year gave final approval to the project, which Adams says will cost close to $50 million. It will take until 2005 to renovate the almost 640,000 square feet divided between two buildings. The project will also include a new parking garage built in front of the store, creating a facade customers will drive through.

''It is truly going to be a different shopping experience for the customer,'' Adams said. ``Right now the aisle patterns and the shopping experience at Dadeland are complicated. We're going to create wide, spacious, easy-to-navigate thoroughfares.''

TOTAL `REINVENT'

The new Dadeland Burdines will feature every aspect of the ''reinvent'' strategy already being used at some Burdines stores and possibly others being tested across the country such as a baby-sitting area and a day spa.

But Burdines will not close during the renovations, so the work will be done in phases beginning in April with the home store building, which should be completed by early 2004. As part of the renovation, various departments will be moved to different floors in both buildings and the kids' department will move from the main building to the first floor of the home store.

''Creating sight lines throughout the store is really important,'' said Ian Tornquist, director of planning and design for Echeverría Design Group in Coral Gables, which is the architect firm working on this project and many of Burdines' ''reinvent'' strategies. ``It's going to feel more like one store as opposed to a series of rooms.''

The renovation comes after the Dadeland Burdines, which generates well over triple the volume of the chain's average store, has suffered from at least two disappointing years of declining sales.

The problem: a downturn in Latin American tourists. Shoppers from Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, who come with large suitcases to fill up with designer fashions, have always been a big part of the traffic for both the Dadeland Burdines and the entire mall. That kind of business is why the Dadeland Burdines generated almost a third of Burdines' profits during the early 1990s.

At least for now the drop in Latin American sales has leveled off, and Adams is keeping his fingers crossed for the future.

''Burdines is still a very strong brand in Latin America and South America,'' he said. ``If that economy can come back, we're going to benefit greatly.''

Adams still believes there is room for Burdines to open additional stores in both South Florida and around the state in the longer term, particularly in markets like Jacksonville and the Panhandle, where the chain has no presence.

''There's a lot of business down here, and we're not getting it all,'' Adams said.

www.morningstar.ca 2 Feb 03(11:12 AM) |  E-mail Article to a Friend

Bay St Week Ahead-Gold Stocks' Glitter Seen Undimmed

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian gold-mining stocks haven't hit the ceiling yet, analysts say, even though surging bullion prices and war fears have already lifted them about 20 percent in the past year. Investors traditionally rush to gold stocks as an insurance policy in times of conflict, and with growing momentum toward a war with Iraq, gold issues remain in the spotlight.

Stocks Retreat Dashes Investors' Hopes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A few months ago, many of financial planner Derek Hobbs' clients decided to plunge back into the stock market, believing the worst was over. Now, their hopes of a rebound after three dismal years have been dashed once again after yet another fizzled rally this month slammed stocks back down to mid-October levels.

OPEC Gears Up to Ward Off Q2 Oil Price Crash

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - OPEC is already gearing up to fend off an oil price collapse that might follow any U.S. assault on major Gulf producer Iraq. Although world oil prices have shot well past $30 a barrel amid war fever and political turmoil in OPEC member Venezuela, key oil ministers are warning that markets could tip into oversupply during the second quarter and spark a price crash.

Canada Says Open to Short-Term Softwood Export Tax

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Friday he was open to the idea of a short-term export tax on Canada's softwood shipments to the United States as long as it led to a long-term solution. 'I'm looking for a long-term policy-based resolution. Should an export tax, as an interim measure with clearly identified exit ramps from it, be useful eventually, we could look into it. But that's not where we are -- we want a long-term policy-based resolution,' he told Reuters.

Investors Reports Higher Profit, Raises Dividend

TORONTO (Reuters) - Investors Group <IGI.TO>, Canada's biggest mutual fund company, reported a stronger fourth-quarter profit Friday and raised its dividend, sending its stock up more than 7 percent. The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based firm saw earnings rise as a sharp fall in operating expenses offset a decline in revenues and funds under management triggered by the worst bear market in decades.

Shell Canada CEO Oversaw Oil Sands, Set to Retire

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Shell Canada Ltd. <SHC.TO> chief executive Tim Faithfull, who presided over construction of the C$5.7 billion ($3.7 billion) Athabasca oil sands project, its biggest development, will retire in July after four years at the helm, the company said Friday. Faithfull will be replaced as CEO of Canada's No. 2 oil producer, refiner and marketer by Linda Cook, now the London-based head of global gas and power at Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AS> <SHEL.L>, Shell Canada's majority owner.

TransAlta Reports Loss on Hefty One-Time Charges

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransAlta <TA.TO> reported a fourth-quarter loss Friday after Canada's biggest investor-owned power generator took one-time charges for the phased shutdown of an aging Canadian power plant, a turbine order cancellation and intensified plant maintenance. TransAlta, with generating stations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, warned of the loss in November, saying the moves were needed to weather weak power markets. Pretax charges totaled C$180 million ($118 million).

Kinross, TVX, Echo Bay Gold Merger Approved

TORONTO (Reuters) - Kinross Gold <K.TO> said Friday that shareholders of TVX Gold and Echo Bay Mines had approved the three-way merger of the Canadian miners, which will create the world's seventh-largest gold producer with output of 2 million ounces annually. The new entity, which will operate under the Kinross name, will begin trading on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and New York Stock Exchange Monday and will reflect the three-for-one common share consolidation approved this week by Kinross shareholders.

Decoma Bids 10 Million Euros for Peguform Assets

TORONTO (Reuters) - Decoma International <DECa.TO>, a Canadian autoparts maker, said Friday it made a 10 million euro ($10.8 million, or C$16.4 million) bid for certain assets and businesses of France's financially troubled Peguform. In a release, Decoma said had bid 6 million euros for Peguform's fascia manufacturing business and fixed and intangible assets, and also bid up to 4 million euros for the work-in-progress, raw materials and finished goods inventory of the autoparts company.

New Brunswick to Overhaul Electricity Market

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick (Reuters) - The government of New Brunswick unveiled legislation Friday to open the province's wholesale electricity market and turn its NB Power utility into a commercial venture. But, unlike Ontario and California, where privatization efforts were dramatic and expensive failures, the eastern Canadian province said it was not making any changes in the retail electricity market.

www.zwire.com Candid Comments January 30, 2003

Joel P. SmithI've been fascinated with our good neighbor from Plains, Jimmy Carter, ever since Election Day, Oct. 16, 1962, when Quitman County's political boss tried to steal the Georgia senate seat from him. Days before the announcement in Oslo that the former senator-governor-president had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Sam Singer from Lumpkin stopped by The Tribune. He reminded me it was exactly 40 years ago the ballot box was stuffed in Georgetown and Carter challenged the system.

The 39th President wouldn't have made it to the White House nor to Oslo, Norway, to pick up the Peace Prize if the peanut farmer and peanut warehouseman hadn't gotten riled up and taken on the powers that be.

I didn't make it to the inauguration in 1977 when Ann Singer and several other members of the Peanut Brigade decorated the White House for the reception. But I was front and center for the proud home folks' Jimmy Carter Nobel Peace Prize Celebration last Saturday night in Americus.

The B.W. and I were Sam and Ann's guests when the Plains Better Hometown Program-similar to Eufaula's Main Street Program-held the local celebration in the recently restored 1900s Rylander Theatre, complete with a big band concert and gala reception next door in the Habitat For Humanity's international headquarters.

I told President Carter that ever since I read his latest book, "An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood," I've plotted to bring him back to Eufaula. Fendall Hall would be the perfect venue to reflect on the life and times of James Earl Carter, his family and the Lower Chattahoochee Basin.

I joined the First Baptist's Tired and Retired Sunday School Class' visit to President Carter's Sunday School Class in Plains a year ago. There was such a large crowd in the sanctuary I didn't get to buttonhole him, but I did leave him a copy of my pictorial history, "A Eufaula Album."

Saturday during the reception, Singer jokingly told the former President that he and I were going to write a book about him. Carter laughed and looking at Sam and said, "Not you." Well, Sam Singer could write a darned good book.

He was politickin' for Carter with the Peanut Brigade, knocking on doors in New Hampshire at his own expense. His life has been almost as interesting as the Navy Academy graduate's.

Plains Mayor Boze Godwin presented Carter with a joint resolution on behalf of his hometown, Americus and Sumter County. He touched on his fellow townsman's varied careers: Habitat for Humanity volunteer, best selling author, President and statesman.

The celebration could very well have been held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, "where Carter mediates conflicts throughout the world and works to improve race relations," with national press coverage, but this was a Sumter County and its municipalities' local celebration for their favorite son.

When Mill Simmons, Plains Better Hometown chair, made remarks about Carter's hands-on involvement with downtown revitalization, I thought the President could also bring his message to Eufaula's Main Street proponents, if we can lure him across the river.

I reminded him of the time Tom Mann hosted him and me for breakfast before a fishing trip in Eufaula. He said to tell Tom hello, and said he had fished for a different kind of bass in Venezuela a few days before when he was in Caracas. He was there to propose a plan to lead Venezuela to elections and end a strike against President Hugo Chavez, which has drastically cut production in the number five oil-exporting country.

President Carter couldn't have been more gracious or more appreciative of his home folks' hospitality. "This is a very important night to me," he told the crowd following the enjoyable concert. "I was 17 when I left Georgia Southwestern College." He recalled his career and added, "I didn't hesitate to come back to the community."

But he quipped, "Oslo was my favorite place," when he visited Norway recently to accept the Nobel Prize.

"The Nobel Peace Prize has come to Georgia an extraordinary number of times." He was the 19th American, the third U.S. president and the second Georgian to be awarded the prize. President Theodore Roosevelt, whose wife was from Georgia, won the award in 1906 for his role in drawing up a peace treaty between Japan and Russia. President Woodrow Wilson won in 1902 for his role in founding the League of Nations.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was the other Georgian recipient, selected for his civil rights movement.

Acknowledging the Sentimental Journey band's concert filled with music of yesterday, Carter mused, "This is a changing world." He recalled the unprecedented efforts of the Peanut Brigade's trips to New Hampshire, Iowa and Pennsylvania to campaign for him at their own expense.

"I'm thankful for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Carter Center and I'm very proud of the country.

"My faith can reach across chasms that divide people in a spirit of love that binds us together."

The mayor of Plains says I might lure the former president to Eufaula, if I use Tom Mann as bait.

Sam Singer and I might be successful, if Venezuela, Cuba and all the other trouble spots in the world would behave.

We could bring the Nobel Peace Prize celebration to Eufaula and Georgetown.

reuters.com Thu January 30, 2003 04:06 PM ET

FORT LAUDERDALE (Reuters) - America Online Latin America Inc. AOLAC.O , which offers Internet services in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, said on Thursday it is no longer in conditional listing on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, having met minimum capitalization requirements.

The company, backed by media giant AOL Time Warner Inc. AOL.N and Venezuela's Cisneros Group, said it will trade once again under the AOLA AOLA.O symbol when markets open on Thursday.

Nasdaq requires $35 million in market capitalization for the company to list its Class A common stock, AOL Latin America said.

Earlier this month, stock conversion by the two main shareholders of the company helped to boost its capitalization levels and gained it a six-month extension to comply with the $1 minimum bid price requirement for the Class A stock

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.30.03, 8:30 AM ET OTTAWA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Statistics Canada issued the following data on Thursday:

Industrial product and raw materials price indexes December 2002

Manufacturers' prices, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), fell in December (-0.4%) for the second month in a row. However, the IPPI remained high and prices were up 2.8% from December 2001, the highest year-over-year increase since May 2001. This rise reflects a much stronger performance in the second half of 2002 than in the same period of 2001.

On a monthly basis, lower prices for motor vehicles and other transport equipment (-1.0%), pulp and paper products (-1.1%), chemical products (-0.6%) and electrical and communications products (-0.6%) had a major impact. Higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products (+1.2%) and for fruit, vegetable and feed products (+0.3%) partly offset these monthly decreases.

Strong contributors to the year-over-year growth were petroleum and coal products (+24.5%) and primary metal products (+8.4%). Fruit, vegetable and feed products (+5.5%) and chemical products (+3.5%) also contributed to the annual growth in manufacturers' prices. However, lower prices for pulp and paper products (-2.5%) and for lumber and other wood products (-1.3%) dampened the increase.

From December 2001 to December 2002, petroleum and coal product prices rose 24.5%, the largest increase since December 2000. If petroleum and coal product prices had been excluded, the year-over-year increase would have been 1.6% instead of 2.8%.

Note to readers

The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) reflects the prices that producers in Canada receive as the goods leave the plant gate. It does not reflect what the consumer pays. Unlike the Consumer Price Index, the IPPI excludes indirect taxes and all the costs that occur between the time a good leaves the plant and the time the final user takes possession of it, including the transportation, wholesale, and retail costs.

Canadian producers export many goods. They often quote their prices in foreign currencies, particularly for motor vehicles, pulp, paper, and wood products. Therefore, a rise or fall in the value of the Canadian dollar against its US counterpart affects the IPPI.

The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) reflects the prices paid by Canadian manufacturers for key raw materials. Many of these prices are set in a world market. Unlike the IPPI, the RMPI includes goods not produced in Canada.

Manufacturers paid 17.6% more for their raw materials than they did in December 2001, after an 11.6% increase in November. Higher prices for mineral fuels and vegetable products, as well as for wood products and non-ferrous metals, were mainly responsible for this annual rise in the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI). If mineral fuels had been excluded, the RMPI would have increased 7.8%.

On a monthly basis, raw materials prices were up 4.2% from November. Mineral fuels were responsible for most of the monthly rise. Prices for animal products were also higher in December than in November. Lower prices for vegetable products, non-ferrous metals and ferrous materials partly offset this monthly increase.

The IPPI (1997=100) stood at 108.2 in December, down from its revised level of 108.6 in November. The RMPI (1997=100) rose to 118.4 in December from its revised level of 113.6 in November. Monthly crude oil prices are up but prices for lumber products are unchanged

In the RMPI, crude oil prices were 12.8% higher in December than in November, mainly the result of lower inventories and strike activity in Venezuela. On a year-over-year basis, crude oil prices were up by 53.3%.

In the IPPI, lumber and other wood product prices were unchanged in December from November. Higher prices for softwood lumber were offset by lower prices for veneer and plywood. On a year-over-year basis, lumber and other wood products were down 1.3%. Impact of exchange rate pushes prices down

From November to December, the value of the US dollar weakened against the Canadian dollar, pushing down prices of commodities that are quoted in US dollars. As a result, the total IPPI excluding the effect of the exchange rate would have remained unchanged instead of declining 0.4%.

On a 12-month basis, the influence of the dollar had no impact. The IPPI excluding the effect of the exchange rate would have remained at an increase of 2.8% from December 2001 to December 2002. Finished goods continue to increase from a year ago

Rising prices for petroleum products, tobacco products, fruit, vegetable and feed products, meat, fish and dairy products, and electrical and communications products pushed prices for finished goods up 1.9% from December 2001. These increases were partly offset by lower prices for pulp and paper products and motor vehicles.

On a monthly basis, prices for finished goods were down 0.5% from November. Lower prices for motor vehicles, petroleum products and electrical and communication products were partly offset by higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products.

"Finished goods" are those generally purchased for the purpose of either consumption or investment. Most of the foods and feeds category ends up in the hands of consumers. Most capital goods are equipment and machinery generally bought by companies, government agencies or governments. Much of the remainder is bought by consumers.