Research Topic

Forth Worth, Texas -- Pier I reduced its fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 profit forecasts, blaming the negative impact of severe winter weather. The home furnishings chain is the latest in a series of retailers to credit the extremely cold weather as the main reason for its reduced outlook.

Aventura, Fla. -- Aventura Mall, in the Miami suburb of Aventura, plans a significant expansion that will include a new three-level, 241,000-sq.-ft. retail wing and parking garage. Construction is expected to begin in 2014.

Located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Aventura Mall currently measures 2.7 million sq. ft.

Columbus, Ohio – L Brands Inc. saw its fourth-quarter profit increase 19% as the prior year was negatively impacted by special charges. The owner of Victoria’s Secret, Bed, Bath & Body Works and other brands earned $489.6 million for the quarter that ended Feb. 1, compared to $411.4 million, in the prior year.

Revenue for the quarter, which included an extra week, declined to $3.82 billion from $3.86 billion. Same-store sales were up 1%.

For the full year, L Brands earned $903 million, and reported sales of $10.77 billion.

WTI expects March 2014 to trend similar in temperature to last year and below normal for the U.S. as a whole. The month starts out with cold, possibly record-breaking, in the North along with some potentially snowy and/or icy weather as a storm system moves through. Colder trends linger into the second week of the month, but toward St.Patrick’s day, temperatures look to take a turn toward trending warmer than last year.

Chicago -- An overwhelming majority of retail CFOs (96%) expect merger & acquisition (M&A) activity to increase or remain consistent with 2013 levels during 2014. According to the new BDO Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, two-thirds of CFOs anticipate that the majority of deal activity will occur in the U.S., followed distantly by Asia-Pacific (17%) and Europe (8%).

Walnut Creek, Calif. – Retailers are taking an increasingly omni-channel approach to their mobile strategies, looking to combine mobile with existing channels rather than treat it as a separate entity. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Mobile in Retail: Reality Sets In,” 49% of retail respondents said the purpose of their mobile strategy is to drive traffic to the store in 2014, compared to 33% in 2013.

St. Louis -- A majority (74%) of U.S. contractors are unaware of upcoming 2015 regional standards for unitary air conditioning and heat pump systems, according to a survey by Emerson Climate Technologies Inc. Nearly 80% of contractors were unaware of 2015 part-load efficiency requirements for light commercial split, package and rooftop systems, and 84% are unaware of the 2015 chiller standards. Unlike the 2005 regulation changes, the 2015 changes will affect both residential and commercial efficiency standards.

El Segundo, Calif. – Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. released mostly positive financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. During the fourth quarter, net income rose 30% to $5.2 million from $4 million compared to the same period in the prior year.