Research Topic

Springfield, N.J. -- Village Super Market, which operates 28 supermarkets under the Shop Rite name in the Northeast, reported Thursday that net income for the fourth quarter was $8.8 million, an increase of 14% after backing out the extra week in last year’s fourth quarter.

Without the adjustment, net income fell from $8.9 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose nearly 1% to $345 million from $342.7 million. After excluding the extra week, revenue increased nearly 8%. Same-store sales rose nearly 8% excluding the extra week.

In addition to all the various strategies Walmart has in place to restore same-store sales growth to its U.S. division. A major factor in its favor is that the size of the pie is expected to growth this year.

The National Retail Federation is out with its annual forecast, and according to the trade group, holiday sales are expected to increase 2.8% to $465.6 billion. While that growth is less than the 5.2% increase retailers experienced last year, it is slightly higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.6%, according to NRF.

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a strong September performance, recording a 12% rise in same-store sales for the month.

Target Corp., helped by strong sales of groceries, beauty products and clothing, saw September same-store sales rise 5.3%. Sales for the period rose 6.5% to $5.9 billion.

Franklin, Tenn. -- Tablets and smartphones are redefining the retail shopping experience and will be a $5 billion market per year by 2015, according to a new research report by IHL Group.

The study, Mobility: A Gutenberg Moment for Retail, A Threat to POS, found that the release of the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle Fire have created price points and form factors for mobile devices that are finally allowing retailers to arm their associates with tools that will transform the in-store experience.

Americans spent lots of money on apparel in September, and that could be good news for Walmart where last we heard from stores division president and CEO Bill Simon apparel was a key areas where he was confident the retailer would see ongoing improvement during the back half of the year.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation predicted an average holiday shopping season. According to the NRF forecast, holiday retail sales for 2011 are expected to increase 2.8% to $465.6 billion. While that growth is far lower than the 5.2% increase retailers experienced last year, it is slightly higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.6%, according to NRF.

WASHINGTON — A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation predicted an average holiday shopping season. According to the NRF forecast, holiday retail sales for 2011 are expected to increase 2.8% to $465.6 billion. While that growth is far lower than the 5.2% increase retailers experienced last year, it is slightly higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.6%, according to NRF.

Washington, D.C. -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence last week capped the worst quarterly performance in more than two years, when the U.S. economy was still in a recession.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 50.2 in the week ended Oct. 2, from the prior period’s minus 53 that was the second-lowest level on record. The gauge averaged minus 48.4 from July through September, the third-worst quarterly reading of all time and the weakest since minus 49.9 in the first three months of 2009.