Research Topic

Atlanta – Havertys reported essentially flat net income growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income was $4.82 million, compared to $4.83 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Net sales rose 2.5% to $175.13 million, from $171.11 million. Same-store sales climbed 3.2%.
 

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market reported that profit for the third quarter rose to $151 million from $142 million last year, but revenue and same-store sales missed projections, sending the organic grocer’s shares downward.

Revenue rose to $3.38 billion from $3.06 billion, shy of the $3.39 billion expected by Wall Street. Same-store sales rose 3.9%, well short of the estimated 4.9% gain and marking the worst performance in at least 14 quarters.

New York -- Parents and their children in grades K-12 will spend a combined $543 on back-to-school items, and double that, at $1,223, on college spending. According to new survey data from Deloitte, parents alone expect to spend 13% less than in 2013.

Santa Cruz, Calif. - Sixty-six percent of retailers attending the recent Big Data & Analytics for Retail Summit believe the number one way to ensure a successful holiday season is to understand customer behavior to drive sales and build loyalty. Moreover, data from business analytics provider Looker shows that four-in-10 retailers feel they are still ineffective when it comes to using data to improve business performance.

Just how often does Amazon change prices throughout the day? And when do other leading retailers adjust their prices? Price intelligence and optimization leader 360pi is out with a new report that answers those questions and sheds lights on some surprising pricing tactics at top retailers.

The report, titled “When Should You Change Your Prices,” explores the phenomenon of pricing dynamism at leading retailers and assesses its effectiveness. What 360pi discovered is that the level of price dynamism can vary dramatically across retailers.

New York - A majority of parents plan to spend more on their children's back-to-school shopping this year, driven by rising costs or necessity rather than greater spending power. According the Accenture Back-to-School Shopping Survey, which polled 500 U.S. parents of children entering kindergarten through college, nearly all (89%) plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping in a physical store, though many will still use online to browse and search, or "webrooming."

New York - Households with school-aged children (pre-school through 12th grade) plan to spend more this year on back-to-school necessities with a predicted increase of 9 % for an average spend of $655, according to the 15th annual survey conducted by Brand Keys.

Average anticipated spending in all major back-to-school categories reflect higher levels from 2013:

Clothing: $348 (+16%)
Shoes (athletic & dress) $127 (+15%)
Supplies $ 89 (+13%)
Computers/Electronics/
Tablets/Smartphones: $213 (+12%)

New York – Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) reported net income of $2.24 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, a turnaround from a net loss of $636,000 in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. Revenues fell 11% to $37.6 million from $42.2 million, due to lower print and merchandising revenue partially offset by higher digital advertising revenue.

Pittsburgh – Net income at GNC Holdings Inc. slipped during the second quarter of fiscal 2014, falling 2% to $69.89 billion from $71.69 billion in the prior year period. For second quarter 2014, the company reported consolidated revenue of $675.2 million, a decrease of 0.2% as compared to consolidated revenue of $676.3 million for second quarter 2013.

London - Almost half (48%) of U.K. online shoppers have made an online purchase with a retailer based outside the U.K. According to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from EDigitalResearch and IMRG, 60% of the respondents who have shopped cross-border said that they choose to purchase with a retailer outside of the U.K. because of better prices, while another 60% said that they made the purchase because they couldn't get the product they wanted in the U.K.