Our hot holiday gift series continues today with part two—what to gift that great guy on your list.  Whether he’s a kid at heart, a tech-geek, a Tim the Tool Man in the making—or some kind of wonderful in between—we’ve done our homework, and these gifts are a hit.

Take a peek:

Dressed Up Duds. He may never admit it, but he likes to be dressed.  Gift him with a twill blazer that will highlight his handsomest qualities and make him strut just a little bit more.  This debonair twill blazer is from J. Crew at The Oaks ($278).

This debonair twill blazer is from J. Crew at The Oaks ($278).

More is More

We found these ones at Apple at Los Cerritos Center ($ 49.95).

They may be tiny, but they blow out the sound on his tech necessities in a mighty big way.  He’ll flip for these mini speakers that plug into his smart phone, laptop, or MP3 and give a bumpin’ boost to his music or video.  We found these ones at Apple at Los Cerritos Center ($49.95).

Candy Man

For office or home (or maybe both) we found this version from Brookstone at Westside Pavilion ($39.95).

He’ll be the talk of the watercooler or the most popular dad or grandpa with this wave-of-your-hand candy dispenser.   For office or home (or maybe both) we found this version from Brookstone at Westside Pavilion ($39.95).

Man Stuff

We picked this up at Sears in Los Cerritos Center ($129).

Men doing manly things is always attractive, and he loves to be productive just as much as you love for him to be.  Pick the mecca of all tool sets and gift him with this  four piece Craftsman Cordless Combo collection—electric drill, hand sander, circular saw and worklight—and watch your honey-do list be whittled down before your very eyes.   We picked this up at Sears in Los Cerritos Center ($129).

Score

JCPenney at Lakewood Center ($9.99).

All work and no play makes him a dull boy.  Get his game on with a mobile dinner table ping pong ball set and watch his competitive holiday spirit light him up, JCPenney at Lakewood Center ($9.99).

From:  Lethbridge Herald

February 20, 2009

TORONTO – Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) has laid off 300 employees to prepare for what a company spokesman calls a “tough” year.

That represents less than one per cent of the company’s workforce of 38,000. About half the laid off workers are at the company’s Toronto headquarters, while the rest are at Sears repair centres across the country.

Sears Canada spokesman Vince Power says the cuts will have no impact on customer service either in the stores or at Sears’ repair business.

“We made these job cuts to prepare for what’s widely known to be a year with a tough economic climate,” Power said Friday.

The impact of the global slowdown has been felt unevenly, with some retailers or retail sectors feeling more pain than others.

Hudson’s Bay Co., whose Bay department stores compete with many Sears stores, announced this month it was cutting 1,000 jobs or about five per cent of its full-time Canadian workforce.

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC), on the other hand, reported last week that it expects to open between 120 and 130 new stores in 2009. The pharmacy chain increased its fourth-quarter revenue by 14 per cent to $173 million, partly as a result of adding 142 stores.

Analysts have noted that retailers who sell must-have goods, such as pharmaceuticals and groceries, often do well during recessionary times while others that depend on customers’ discretionary spending see a decline.

Clothing and furniture sales, two department store staples, have struggled this year as home sales have plunged, prompting cautious consumers to shift their spending to such basics as food.

Sears Canada shares traded at $19.46, up 21 cents, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Retailers such as Ann Taylor, Sears and Talbots face store closings, bankruptcies, takeovers in 2009

From:  New York Daily News

This holiday season hit retailers hard.  As a result, many are facing mass store closings and bankruptcies.

Retailers will close 12,000 stores in 2009, Howard Davidowitz, chairman of retail consulting and investment-banking firm Davidowitz & Associates Inc. told Bloomberg News. 

Retailers such as Ann Taylor,Talbots and Sears are among the many retailers expected to close underperforming stores, Bloomberg News reported.

Britt Beemer of America’s Research Group dubbed this ”the worst holiday retail season in four decades.”  He predicted a 2.8% drop in sales nationwide from last Christmas season.

Citywide, the number of shoppers in stores Friday through Sunday fell 15% from a year ago, he said. Due to Wall Street woes and tight-fisted tourists, the amount of money spent could easily be down 30%.

Many retailers such as Circuit City, Linens ‘n Things and Sharper Image have already sought bankruptcy protection. The abysmal holiday sales may spur consolidation and further bankruptcy filings, Gilbert Harrison, chief executive officer of retail advisory firm Financo Inc, told Bloomberg News.

“You’re going to see deals that you never thought you were going to see before because of the necessity of both parties,” Harrison said in a Bloomberg Television interview Dec. 26.

The International Council of Shopping Centers tracking survey found that 6,387 stores had closed this year as of Decemeber 10, and that this number would likely hit  6,600 for the year, as reported by Bloomberg News. 

“The situation is not going to right itself in January, it’s going to be a long while that discounting’s going to be around,” Patti Freeman Evans, an analyst at Jupiter Research in New York told Bloomberg News. “Consumers are going to get used to it and it’s going to very difficult for retailers to move forward in a full-price mode.”