Strategy

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots Inc. came up smaller than Wall Street expected with its fiscal performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net loss shrank to a higher-than-expected $3.44 million from $9.52 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year.
  Net sales marginally grew to $1.11 billion from $1.1 billion, and same-store sales increased 1.4%. The company expects low-single-digit increases in same-store sales for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2014.
 

Weakening demand for guns and ammunition contributed to a 6.2 percent decline in same store sales at outdoor retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings.

The comp decline was offset by an increase in new stores which allowed the company to grow sales by 4.3 percent to $182.5 million and end the third quarter on Nov. 1 with 55 stores. Profits on an adjusted basis to exclude non-recurring expenses were $8.9 million, or 21 cents a share, compared to $7.1 million, or 17 cents a share.

Newtown Square, Penn. – Omnichannel is increasing the reach retailers have to their customers, but also increasing customer expectations. According to a survey of marketing decision-makers in omnichannel consumer products organizations from SAP, 86% of respondents agree that omnichannel has meant that customer and consumer expectations of the organization have increased.  

A former Walmart and Sears financial executive and a former Federal Reserve bank executive are the newest members of the board at gift card and financial services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings.

Blackhawk announced on Dec. 5 that Jane J. Thompson and Richard H. Bard were elected to its board of directors effective Oct. 6.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Specialty entertainment applicance retailer Musimundo, which operates more than 200 stores in Argentina, deployed its e-commerce platform on the  IBM Cloud to meet increased customer demand on Cyber Monday.

As it prepared for Cyber Monday 2014, Musimundo's greatest challenge was to address the number of entries of people to its website per second, and it needed to manage load balance and security levels in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Genesco detailed succession plans for its CFO on a day that the company also reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal third quarter and lowered its outlook for the full year.

Las Vegas - Fresh & Easy, the former Tesco-owned grocery format, is testing a dramatically new look at seven plus stores in the  Las Vegas market.    The stores have been remodeled with a more modern feel and layout and a greater emphasis on ready meal solutions, with such features as a “Fresh To Go” hot food bar, a pizza over, a coffee bar and made-to-order sandwiches. A revamped product selection with lower fixtures and a more abundant selection of fresh food.  

With 765 stores now in operation, Ulta Beauty’s unique value proposition continues to resonate strongly with shoppers.

The more recent evidence could be seen in the company’s third quarter results which saw same stores sales accelerate 9.5 percent from a prior year gain of 6.8 percent.