Tesco's shares cash out on Russian plans for F&F

Thursday Tesco (LON:TSCO), said it's considering opening F&F

clothing stores in Russia as part of a plan to expand its fashion brand's global presence. The stock traded steady on the back of the news. Elsewhere, JC Penney waved bye to Chief Financial Officer Ken Hannah.

As reported by Reuters citing inside sources, Tesco will stick to its plans to boost the chain's international footprint by stepping into Russia with its fashion brand F&F.

On Tuesday, Tesco shares lost 1.79 percent after market researcher Kantar Worldpanel revealed that the UK's leading retailer saw both its revenue and market share decline in the 12 weeks to February 2, pointed out Reuters.

As per data gathered by AnalystRatingsNetwork data, eleven research analysts have a 'sell' rating on Tesco, nine have it as a 'hold', and thirteen call it a 'buy'. China's fake luxury goods scandal seems to have not affected the big cats, with Hermès' sales in 2013 up 7.8 percent, or 13 percent at constant exchange rates, outperforming rivals such as LVMH. However, Prada said the day before sales growth had slowed to 9 percent in the year ended January 31, from 29 percent in the previous year.

Across the Atlantic, JC Penney Chief Financial Officer Ken Hannah is leaving the department store operator, passing the baton to Ed Record, whose appointment will be effective March 24. Record will also serve as executive vice-president.

On a separate note, retail sales in the US declined in January by the most since June 2012 as inclement weather kept consumers away from auto showrooms and stores, revealed data published by Bloomberg.

The 0.4 percent decrease followed a revised 0.1 percent drop in December that was previously reported as an increase, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Sales excluding automobiles were unchanged.

Spending decreased 0.9 percent at clothing chains and 1.5 percent at department stores, the report showed. Purchases fell 0.6 percent at furniture outlets and 1.4 percent at retailers of sporting goods, books and music.