Winter Holidays

Stronger demand for clothing and accessories during the holiday season helped Kohl's Corp. post an increase in same store sales for the fourth quarter after five straight quarters of decline.   The retailer reported that same store sales rose 3.7% for the fourth quarter. Net income rose 10.5% to $369 million, or $1.83 per share, while net sales increased 4% to $6.34 billion. Analysts on an average had expected earnings of $1.80 per share and revenue of $6.33 billion.  

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree reported that its net income dropped 13% to $206.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, down from $239 million in the year ago period. The quarter included $6.7 million in acquisition-related costs associated with the pending merger with Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl's Corp. reported better-than-expected profit for its fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong holiday sales.
 
The retailer earned $369 million for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $334 million a year ago.

Total sales were up 3.9% to $6.34 billion from $6.1 billion in the year-ago period, also better than expected. Same-store sales increased 3.7%, a significant improvement after five straight quarters of decline.

Washington, D.C. – Retailers looking forward to consumers receiving their tax refund checks this year may be setting themselves up for disappointment. According to a new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, close to half (47%) of the 66% of Americans expecting a tax refund this year plan to save it.

Fairfax, Va. – A competitive promotional environment and delivery problems had a negative impact on net income and revenues at Geeknet, parent company of online retailer ThinkGeek.com and licensed merchandise distributor ThinkGeek Solutions, during the fourth quarter and full year 2014. Net income for fourth quarter 2014 was $1 million, down 80% from net income of $5.1 million in the same period a year earlier.

Total revenue for fourth quarter 2014 was $72.4 million, a decrease of 3% from $74.3 million.

Target is raising the stakes in the free online shipping game by undercutting not only Walmart but now also Amazon.com.

Target announced it has lowered the threshold for free shipping on online orders to $25, making it among the most competitive among major retailers. Its previous free-shipping minimum was $50, which placed it in the higher end of the spectrum.

Charlotte, N.C. – Nothing succeeds like success, and 300-plus-store department store chain Belk Inc. took a previously successful TV holiday campaign and modernized it for the omnichannel era, with impressive results.

New York - Retail sales in the U.S. will reach $4.87 trillion for the full year 2015. According to EMarketer analysis, this represents a 4% increase from 2014.

U.S. retail e-commerce sales will total approximately $350 billion in 2015, up 14% from $305.7 billion the prior year. Despite rapid growth, retail ecommerce will still account for just 7% of total retail sales in the U.S. during the current year, EMarketer estimates.