Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Atlanta - Another retailer is looking for a chief executive: Aaron’s Inc. announced that Ronald W. Allen, 72, will retire as CEO and as a member of the board of directors of Aaron’s, effective Aug. 31. Allen has served on the board since 1997 and as CEO since February 2012.

The board has retained Spencer Stuart, an executive recruiting firm, to assist in the process of identifying Allen's successor. The search process will include a full review of both internal and external candidates.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot has raised its full-year adjusted operating income forecast as cost savings from the closure of some U.S. stores related to its acquisition of OfficeMax are expected to be higher than previously anticipated. As previously announced, Office Depot plans to close at least 400 stores by the end of 2016, with about 165 closures in 2014.

San Francisco – Shopper traffic declined 6% in July 2014 compared to the same month in 2013, due to real wage pressure, favorable summer weather, and a shift towards big-ticket item purchases, according to monthly benchmarks from in-store analytics provider Euclid.

Scotts Miracle-Gro reported declines in sales and income for the third quarter of 2014, but pointed to momentum that may place the company at the top end of its guidance for the year.

Pittsburgh -- Smartphone-generated revenue by consumers to retailer smartphone-optimized websites was up 97.6%, from July 2014 versus July 2013, according to Branding Brand, a mobile commerce platform.  

The firm’s Mobile Commerce Index for July 2014 shows that smartphones generated 34.9% of total online visits (61.8% iOS, 37.4% Android) up 19.9% from July 2013. Meanwhile, the market share of non-mobile (desktop) visits decreased 13.7%, from July 2013 to July 2014.

As an article that appeared recently right here in Chain Store Age noted, there is something interesting going on with back-to-school shopping this year.

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd’s first-quarter net income surged 50% amid strong sales overseas. The luxury retailer earned a better-than-expected $187.7 million for the three months ended June 28, up from $125 million from a year ago.

Net sales jumped 44% to $887 million. Total revenue — which includes licensing revenue — climbed 43% to $919.2 million. Global same-store sales for the quarter rose 24.2%.

Asheville, N.C. – Ingles Markets Inc. swung to a profit of $13.83 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from a net loss of $14.42 million in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year. The elimination of debt refinancing costs from the previous fiscal year helped push Ingles Markets into the black.

Net sales rose 5% to $978.26 million from $934.01 million. Same-store sales increased 2.1%, benefiting from an Easter shift to the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.