Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Chelmsford, Mass. -- The Kronos Retail Labor Index edged down one-tenth to 4.2% in July, reflecting declines in both hires and applications. (The index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0 means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred.)

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said that its same-store sales fell 7% in July as its split with Express Scripts continued to hurt its top line. (The two companies last month reached an agreement to resume doing business, but that doesn't start until Sept. 15.)

The company's pharmacy same-store sales were down 9.7%, while front end sales fell 2.4%. The performance missed analyst expectations.
 

Naperville, Ill. -- Office Max Inc. reported Thursday net income of $10.7 million for the second quarter, besting Wall Street predictions and representing a strong turnaround from last year’s $3 million loss stemming from store closures and severance expenses.

Revenue for the quarter slipped 2.7% to $1.6 billion, missing analysts’ forecasted $1.64 billion in revenue. The office supply retailer said it will reinstate its quarterly common stock dividend, which it suspended more than three years ago.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that July same-store sales rose 0.5%.

Total sales dipped 0.1% to $1.88 billion.
 

Denver -- The majority of consumers are being budget-smart about back-to-school shopping. Not only are they seeking out the best prices, but they’re also shopping early – 48% of shoppers polled said they were beginning their shopping a month before the first bell rings, according to a back-to-school shopping report by ShopAtHome.com, the coupon search engine. The report, which tracks consumer search habits on the site, also shows that 42% of consumers will shop more generic brands than last year.

Indianapolis -- Hhgregg reported Thursday a loss of $5.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $0.8 million in the year-ago period. The electronics and appliances retailer cited higher expenses coupled with same-store sales declines for the poor performance.

Net sales increased 13.5% to $489.9 million from $431.5 million, and same-store sales decreased 5.1%.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a 5% increase in same-store sales in July, helped by strong sales at its U.S. stores. But the stronger dollar and lower gas prices pressured its results.

Same-store revenue at U.S. locations open was up 7% for the period ended July 29. The figure was flat for its international stores.

Taking out the impact of lower gas prices and a stronger dollar, same-store sales rose 7% for the month. In the U.S., the metric was up 8% while overseas it rose 7%.

WASHINGTON — Desire for more organic food, high-end products and mobile technologies were the driving trends of the fastest-growing retailers in the United States, according to the National Retail Federation's "Hot 100 Retailers" list. Published annually in the group's STORES August issue, the list consists of retail companies that reported the greatest increase in domestic sales between 2010 and 2011. All public and private companies with more than $300 million in sales were eligible for the list, which was compiled by Kantar Retail.