Seasonal

Big and tall men continued to spend in the first quarter, bucking slow apparel sales throughout the rest of the industry.   Destination XL Group Inc. posted revenue of $107.9 million in the quarter, up 3.3% from $104.4 million in the year-ago period. Total same-store sales rose 2%.  

Ace Hardware took home "record" first quarter revenues of $1.2 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 4.3% over last year. The message was a little more muddled for earnings. Though its first quarter net income of $26.1 million was down 12.7% year-over-year, that figure was still 12.0% ahead of plan. It was also a planned reduction owing to the timing of promotions.

Target Corp.’s ongoing recovery stalled a bit in the first quarter as the chain joined the list of retailers posting disappointing Q1 sales amid cool, unspring like weather and sluggish retail spending. But it was not all gloom and doom for the discounter, whose online sales continued their upward course and whose profit topped estimates.

Comp-store sales for the quarter were up 6.5% - with comps for the U.S. stores up 7.4%.   Net earnings for the three months ended May 1 were $1.8 billion, up 14.2% compared with net earnings of $1.6 billion in the same quarter last year.  

Retailers’ margins could be under pressure during the first quarter as a new index tracking promotional selling shows full price sales have declined and promotional activity has increased.

Retailers are relying heavily on discounts and promotions so for this year, continuing the trend from the 2015 holiday season of pulling the promotional lever far too often, according an analysis of $5 billion in consumer transactions from January through March conducted by DynamicAction.

Call it a spring retail funk. The day after Macy’s posted disappointing results for its first quarter, Kohl’s Corp. upped the ante, reporting an 87% drop in net income amid heavy one-time costs. Kohl’s net income for the three months that ended April 30, was $17 million, down 87% from the $127 million Kohl's earned in the year-ago period. Excluding impairments, store closings and one-time costs, net income was $58 million, down 55%.

Sears Holdings has been having issues attracting shoppers to stores, as evidenced by the recent decision to close 78 brick-and-mortar locations.

However, the department store retailer is not giving up on efforts to drive store traffic. Sears is combining the eternal appeal of Mom and its strong history of omnichannel customer service to give shoppers a good reason to visit their local store.

Cabela’s will debut a “cost-effective” design in its two newly announced store locations.

The outdoor apparel and goods retailer announced two new locations, one in McDonough, Georgia, opening in fall 2017, and one in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, opening in fall 2017 or spring 2018.

The locations, both 70,000 sq. ft. each, are designed around a new concept that the retailer said is more cost effective "in a focused effort to bring more its stores to more convenient locations" to better serve customers.