Winter Holidays

North Plainfield, N.J. – A majority of store managers (57.3%) said holiday sales met or exceeded their expectations during the 2013 holiday season. However, according to the post-holiday "Retail Sentiments Survey" from retail real estate services firm Levin Management, mid-December was the busiest time according to 26.9% of store manager respondents, followed by the weekend before Christmas with 24.4%.

Brentwood, Tenn. – Tractor Supply Company reported increased net income and sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013, compared to the same periods a year earlier. Net income grew 18.7% to $328.2 million from $276.5 million for the full fiscal year, and 21% to $95.9 million from $79.5 million for the fourth quarter.

Lands' End is looking to further its position as a lifestyle brand by entering the body care category with the launch of its Coastal Living Body Care Collection.   

The body care collection includes lavender and honey blossom scented body lotion, hand cream and body wash, and is available at landsend.com.

Lucky Charms cereal is marking its 50th anniversary with a 50-day celebration featuring its longtime mascot Lucky the leprechaun.

The celebration kicked off last night with a tribute ad featuring pop vocal sensation Pentatonix singing his jingle. The festivities will culminate on Lucky's 50th birthday. St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Throughout the 50-day celebration, surprises will pop up across the country and online.

Beloit, Wis. -- Almost one-third of U.S., consumers (30%) plan to buy a new TV in 2014 and of those, 32% said during Super Bowl sales, while 25% said during Black Friday. A new consumer survey from FatWallet also revealed price will have the most influence on TV purchases, with more than half saying they plan to spend less than $500, while one-in-four plan to spend more than $700.

Although Starbucks’ profit in the first quarter rose a better-than-expected 25% to $540.7 million from $432 million in the year-ago period, same-store sales missed Wall Street expectations.

Same-store sales rose 5%, beneath Wall Street expectations of 5.9%. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 29, 2013 rose 12% to $4.24 billion from $3.79 billion.

Same-store sales in the Americas region also rose 5%, while analysts had expected a 6.4% increase.

The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) said that Michigan's retail industry had a poor holiday shopping season thanks to damaging winter storms and “outdated government policies that favor out-of-state online companies.”

Retailers posted only a 0.1% average increase over last holiday season, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of MRA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Meijer customers donated more than $510,000 during the company’s holiday Simply Give campaign, helping food pantries throughout the Midwest restock their shelves.

Combined with a donation from Meijer, the holiday campaign raised more than $1.2 million, making it the most successful campaign since Simply Give began in November 2008.