Winter Holidays

JCP turnaround in holiday homestretch
J.C. Penney is in the final phase of its turnaround and the company’s stores are customers’ preferred destination for great style, quality and value, according to company CEO Mike Ullman.

Those comments came after J.C. Penney said its third quarter same store sales were flat and it forecast a fourth quarter comp increase of 2% to 4%. Total sales in the quarter ended Nov. 1 declined slightly to $2.76 billion from $2.78 billion.
Wal-Mart reports rare sales boost, anticipates highly promotional holiday season
Bentonville, Ark. -- A rare sales bump may provide the world’s largest retailer just the momentum it needs going into the important holiday season, say Wall Street analysts, as Wal-Mart reported that 3Q same-store sales rose at U.S. namesake stores for the first time in nearly two years.

However, Wal-Mart tempered the news with warnings that a highly promotional environment lies ahead.

Survey: Declining prices at the pump may increase holiday sales

Alexandria, Va. — Declining gas prices may increase holiday spending this year—especially among men and those ages 18-34, according to a new national survey on consumer optimism conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
Mall Marketing Spotlight: GGP unveils reimagined Santa experience

General Growth Properties has unveiled Adventure to Santa, a DreamWorks DreamPlace first-of-its-kind holiday experience that starts with Shrek, ends with Santa and seamlessly blends storytelling with cutting-edge technology.
Report: RadioShack cuts back Thanksgiving hours

Fort Worth, Texas –- RadioShack Corp. is reportedly placing a midday break into its previously planned all-day store hours for Thanksgiving. According to Bloomberg, an internal company memo shows that RadioShack, which had previously planned to keep stores open from 8 a.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving, will now close stores between noon and 5p.m. that day.
A.C. Moore looks to do more with Marines

Arts and Crafts retailer A.C. Moore launched its inaugural campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation with a program involving all its stores.

The company’s 140 locations will serve as official drop off locations for the program with every toy donated going to a child in the local community. In addition, the company has pledged to donate 25,000 toys and is asking its customers to help double the donation with an additional 25,000 toys to provide a total of 50,000 toys to kids this holiday season.
Macy’s views omnichannel as Q4 advantage

Macy’s third quarter sales were lower than expected but the company still managed to grow profits by 30% and expressed optimism regarding the fourth quarter.

The department store retailer said same store sales declined 0.7% while total sales declined 1.3% to slightly less than $6.2 billion during the third quarter ended Nov. 1. Net income increased 22.5% to $217 million while earnings per share, aided by the repurchase of nine million shares, increased 30% to 61 cents a share.
Macy’s Q3 tops Street but sales lag; cuts full-year outlook
Study: Shopper activity slightly rebounds in Oct.

San Francisco -- Euclid, the leader of in-store retail analytics, today releases its monthly retail benchmarks report to analyze shopper activity and behavior during the month of October.
Shopko takes different approach with Thanksgiving

Regional discounter Shopko is employing an unconventional strategy concerning Thanksgiving store hours.

JCP turnaround in holiday homestretch

Wal-Mart reports rare sales boost, anticipates highly promotional holiday season

Survey: Declining prices at the pump may increase holiday sales

Mall Marketing Spotlight: GGP unveils reimagined Santa experience

Report: RadioShack cuts back Thanksgiving hours

A.C. Moore looks to do more with Marines

Macy’s views omnichannel as Q4 advantage

Macy’s Q3 tops Street but sales lag; cuts full-year outlook

Study: Shopper activity slightly rebounds in Oct.

Shopko takes different approach with Thanksgiving