1.   Increasingly price-conscious consumers are shopping less at department stores and more at discount stores and general merchandise stores.

2.   And that space excludes on-line sellers and general merchandise stores like Target and Safeway, which are devoting an increasing amount of space to books.

3.   As book retailers have narrowed their discounts, general merchandise stores like Wal-Mart and warehouses like Price Club have become the principal remaining discounters.

4.   BERGDORF GOODMAN Vicki Haupt, senior vice president and general merchandise manager.

5.   Bergdorf Goodman, New York, promoted Joseph Boitano, senior vice president and general merchandise manager, to executive vice president.

6.   Both Apple and Kmart are third-best in their respective businesses, making personal computers and retailing general merchandise.

7.   A slew of earnings reports from retailers showed strong sales gains at department and general merchandise stores, but poor showings at apparel retailers.

8.   According to US Commerce Department figures, general merchandise sales during the holidays has declined as a percentage of annual sales.

9.   Also, increasingly price-conscious consumers are shopping less at department stores and more at discount stores and general merchandise stores.

10.   But it also wants to increase the average purchase made by those shoppers, which also means adding higher-ticket products to the mix of general merchandise.