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Winter Holidays

  • Report: Hhgregg plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as next month

    A week after bringing in advisers to determine how to return the chain to profitability, Hhgregg is preparing to file Chapter 11.  

  • Improving Gap delivers good news

    A jolly holiday season helped Gap Inc. post fourth-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectations, leading to speculation that the chain’s turnaround may be starting to take hold.    The nation’s largest apparel retailer reported net income of $220.0 million, or 55 cents per share, up from $214.0 million, or 53 cents per share, last year.   Sales totaled $4.43 billion, up from $4.39 billion and ahead of the $4.41 billion analysts had expected.   

  • NRF: Consumers are tightly holding on to their tax refunds

    Retailers shouldn’t expect consumer tax refunds to equate into a sales boom anytime soon.   A record low number of Americans will spend their tax returns this year, while the second-highest number on record will put the money into savings, according to the annual tax return survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The study, which is based on responses from 7,609 consumers, was conducted Feb. 1 - Feb. 8.  

  • Report: Layoffs at Toys ‘R’ Us

    Toys “R” Us is the latest company to downsize its workforce.   The toy retailer laid off between 10% and 15% of the employees at its Wayne, New Jersey headquarters — approximately 250 jobs — on Friday, Feb. 17, Forbes said.   

  • Happy Presidents’ Day

    Chain Store Age will be closed on Monday, Feb. 20, in observance of Presidents' Day. We will reopen and resume our normal schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 21. 

  • Commentary: Some red flags in January sales results

    The year kicks off with a respectable set of retail sales numbers that show continued momentum in the consumer economy. The overall growth rate of 4.9% is a little way above the average monthly growth rate of 3.3% recorded in 2016, something that will give retailers some cheer as they head into 2017.  

  • More bad news for department store sector — from Moody’s

    A less than stellar holiday season for U.S. department stores has led Moody's Investors Service to revise its forecasts downward for the sector's operating income.   In its new report, the rating agency said it now expects 2016 aggregate operating income to decline 18%, rather than 11%, and for sales to also decline in the year ahead.  

  • Fast-food brand launches online wedding registry for pizza-loving couples

    The wedding industry’s newest gift registry is being launched by an unlikely company — Domino’s Pizza.   The service, which is called the first registry “for couples that prefer delicious melty cheese to crystal gravy boats,” according to Domino’s website, targets couples unsure about what to serve at pre-, during or post-wedding festivities.  
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