Research Topic

Cincinnati – Kroger Co. reported a 4% increase in its first-quarter profit, helped by the addition of Harris-Teeter, which the grocery giant acquired in January 2014. Kroger raised its net earnings and same-store sales forecast for the fiscal year.
   
The company earned $501 million in the quarter, up from $481 million in the year-ago period. The payment of $56 million to withdraw from two pension funds negatively impacted Kroger’s net earnings.

Fort Worth, Texas – Promotions took their toll on profitability at Pier Imports Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2015. The company reduced its earnings guidance for fiscal 2015.

Net earnings fell 25% to $15.1 million from $20.3 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2014.

Total sales for the first quarter were $419.1 million, a 6.1% increase from $394.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales increased 6.3%, attributable to increases in total brand traffic, conversion and higher average ticket.

Specialty retailer Batteries Plus Bulbs is doubling down on its existing device repair business with plans to have the service in more than 650 stores by yearend.

Since August of last year, device repair was being tested in 40 markets nationwide and had grown to 275 stores, however the popularity of the service among consumers combined with the surging popularity of smartphones, iPods, tablets and other devices prompted the decision to expand the service to all stores, according to the company.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Pizza chains Pizza Hut and Papa John’s are tied for the highest customer satisfaction score among quick-service restaurants. According to the 2014 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Papa John’s (unchanged from 2013) and Pizza Hut (+3%) share the lead at 82, with Little Caesar (-2%) and Domino’s Pizza (-1%) not far behind at 80.

Austin, Texas – Three-quarters (75%) of retail marketers believe that digital advertising delivers a higher ROI than offline advertising, including circulars and direct mail. A survey of 200 retail marketing decision-makers and influencers commissioned by RetailMeNot Inc. and conducted by Kelton, shows that despite this belief, 51% of respondents said digital marketing spend in retail compared to offline marketing spend is still about 50/50.

Chicago -- Chile is the number one destination for emerging market retail expansion, followed by China, where retail sales totaled a whopping $3.7 trillion in 2013, according to the 2014 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index.

With Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico also in the index of top emerging economies ready for retail expansion, Latin America continues to show strength as a regional retail growth market.

London, U.K. — Online grocery shoppers tend to buy fewer impulse purchases online than in store, resulting in smaller basket sizes. A recent survey of 1,154 online grocery shoppers from EDigitalResearch found that 29% of respondents feel that they make far fewer impulse purchases online than in store. 

The drought’s effect on fresh produce in California and the timing of this year’s Easter holiday adversely affected 99 Cents Only Stores’ comparable-store sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Same-store sales decreased 0.5%, calculated on a comparable 13-week period of the prior year. The company reported net sales of $477.9 million, an increase of 7% from $445.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.