Seasonal

The deep freeze hitting much of the United States this winter helped Fred’s improve its same store sales from the prior year, with cold weather product departments performing well in February.    Fred's total sales for February, not adjusting the closed stores, decreased 2% to $154.1 million from $157.4 million in February 2014. Same store sales for the month were approximately flat versus a decrease of 2.2% in February last year.  

San Jose, Calif. – This winter has not only frozen roads and roofs, but also had a chilling effect on retail sales. According to the monthly Retail Performance Pulse from RetailNext, there was a 10.4% year-over-year decrease in sales on a 12.5% decline in traffic at brick-and-mortar stores for the retail month of February (Feb. 1-28).

The holidays were happy for Costco with solid gains in sales and favorable membership trends fueling profits even as low gas prices and a strong dollar had a profound effect on same store sales.

Sales increased 4% to $26.9 billion and membership sales grew 5.8% to $582 million, resulting total revenues that grew 15.8% to $27.5 billion during the company’s second quarter period ending Feb. 15. Total company same store sales advanced 8% excluding the impact of fuel prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.

Irving, Texas – The Michaels Companies Inc. has launched online arts and crafts classes taught by instructors and industry experts through an exclusive partnership with Creativebug, a subscription-based provider of online DIY instruction. Accessible anytime, anywhere, the video classes provide the novice crafter with basic techniques, such as beginning calligraphy and paper crafting, while also teaching more advanced skills and projects.

E-commerce home furnishings company Wayfair continues to lose money, but not as much as analysts had expected.

The company announced it posted a loss of 18 cents per share in the fourth quarter, below the 28-cent loss analysts forecasted. Wayfair generated $1.3 billion in net revenue last year, up 44% over 2013. Sales in its direct-retail segment, which consists of sales from five key brands, surged to $347 million as the number of active customers increased by 54%.

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers are opening up their pocketbooks for St. Patrick’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation’s St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey.

The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, finds that nearly 127 million Americans are planning to celebrate the traditional Irish holiday and will spend an average of $36.52 on green garb, festive food and more, compared to $35.78 last year.

The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods says the growth of the retailer’s omnichannel network and improved marketing led to better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter.

Edward Stack, chairman and CEO at Dick’s, said the company reported a profit of $156 million, or $1.30 a share, up from a profit of $139 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 11% to $2.16 billion. Same store sales jumped 3.4%.

Oak Brook, Ill. – Ace Hardware is trying to make the bleary month of March as colorful as possible for consumers. Ace has launched 31 Days of Color, a month-long omnichannel consumer program featuring daily paint color selections alongside expert design advice and daily giveaways, as well as a nationwide paint makeover sweepstakes.

Every day in March, Ace is unveiling a "Color of the Day" selected from Ace's Clark+Kensington and Valspar paint lines. In addition, Ace’s design experts are providing daily color and design tips.