Research Topic

San Jose, Calif. – This winter has not only frozen roads and roofs, but also had a chilling effect on retail sales. According to the monthly Retail Performance Pulse from RetailNext, there was a 10.4% year-over-year decrease in sales on a 12.5% decline in traffic at brick-and-mortar stores for the retail month of February (Feb. 1-28).

The retail industry continued to backslide on Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, but the slight may not be as bad as it seems.

The 2015 version of the list included 10 retailers compared to 12 retailers on the 2014 version and 14 retailers on the 2013 version. Notable inclusions on the 2015 list were Wegman’s (7), Container Store (27), QuikTrip (54),Whole Foods Market (55), Recreational Equipment (58), Build-A-Bear (59), CarMax (64), Publix (81), Zappos (86) and Nordstrom (93).

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers are opening up their pocketbooks for St. Patrick’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation’s St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey.

The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, finds that nearly 127 million Americans are planning to celebrate the traditional Irish holiday and will spend an average of $36.52 on green garb, festive food and more, compared to $35.78 last year.

Irvine, Calif. -- Hanley Investment Group announced that Ed Hanley, Kevin Fryman and Eric Wohl negotiated the sale of an 88,000-sq.-ft. Kohl's Department Store, located in the Los Angeles area. The single-tenant triple-net leased property sold for $21,950,000, representing a historic national record-breaking low cap rate of 4.80%. 



Amid an $8.7 billion pending sale to an investment firm, PetSmart reported fourth quarter profit and revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.

For the period ended Feb. 1, the company posted a profit of $132.1 million, or $1.32 a share, up slightly from $131.5 million, or $1.28 a share a year earlier. Revenue grew 6% to $1.91 billion, topping the $1.87 billion analysts had predicted.

Net sales increased 6% to $1.9 billion, from $1.81 billion. Same-store sales growth, including sales from online websites, rose 2.6%.

Chicago -- Expect another busy year of retail mergers and acquisitions, according to an annual survey of retail CFO’s by BDO USA. In the most bullish forecast for deal flow in the survey’s nine-year history, 16% of surveyed retail CFOs cite M&A activity as the growth tactic they are most heavily focused on for 2015, up from just 3% in 2014. Seventy-three percent of the CFOs expect the activity will take place primarily in the United States, and 15% expect Asia to see the most activity.

Franklin, Tenn. – The boring old POS terminal may not be so boring after all. According to new research from IHL Group, North American POS shipments grew by 5.2% year-over-year in 2014, a time when many were calling for a reduction in shipments due to mobile.  

Target is trying to increase its appeal with Hispanic shoppers by launching a new marketing campaign focusing on customs that are unique to many Latino communities.

The campaign, called “Sin traduccion,” or “No translation,” will feature two television ads, as well as digital and in-store components.

According to Ad Age, the campaign is meant to be a celebration of moments, traditions and emotions that are treasured by many in the Hispanic culture and spark a larger conversation with the community.

Reston, Va. - Online shoppers around the world want the ability to search and shop on multiple channels and devices, expect to see alternate delivery and payment options, and when it comes to shipping and returns, “free” is a driving factor to complete the sale. According to the second UPS Pulse of the Online Study conducted with comScore Inc., American online shoppers are open to new trends on social media and in-store technologies, making more purchases on tablets than any other market.

Waban, Mass. – Publix, Aldi and H-E-B share something besides all operating in the grocery sector. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the three supermarket chains earned the highest scores in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks 293 companies across 20 industries.

Joining those firms in the top 12 spots are retailers Chick-fil-A, PetSmart, Amazon.com, Trader Joe's, Papa John's, Walgreens, and Hannaford's.