Seasonal

A 19% fourth-quarter same-store sales decline and a steep decline in profitability prompted RadioShack to announce the closure of 1,100 stores while CEO Joseph Magnacca maintained the retailer’s brand equity remains strong and a profitability plan is in place.

General Mills Big G cereals now include four collectible comic books featuring DC Comics' Justice League characters, on shelves now through April 2014.

Four specialty issues created exclusively for General Mills, in partnership with DC Entertainment (DCE) and Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), can be found in grocery retailers nationwide, with a bonus fifth issue available only in select boxes of Cheerios at Target.

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group, the operator of Lane Bryant, Justice and Dress Barn stores, reported second-quarter profit of $31.9 million, down from $47.2 million in the year-ago period. Looking ahead, the company reduced its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $1.00 to $1.05 per share from its previous guidance range of $1.10 to $1.15 per share.

Sales increased to $1.27 billion from $1.24 billion last year. Same-store sales were flat.

Prairie Farms Dairy has rolled out a line of Old Recipe Seasonal Favorites Milk in three flavors: Jelly Bean, Chocolate Marshmallow and Easter Egg Nog.

According to the dairy, the milk is ultra-pasteurized and has an extended shelf life of 75 days, and all flavors are produced using milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.

Oral-B has launched of an oral care app for children called the Disney Magic Timer App by Oral-B.

Created in collaboration with Disney and powered by DreamPlay, the oral care app is designed to helps kids increase brushing time, which, according to the company, is identified by dentists as an area of concern and improvement for children.

Ascena Retail Group, the operator Lane Bryant, Justice and Dress Barn stores, cited increased spending on growth initiatives and a challenging sales climate for a second quarter profit decline and its second full year earnings guidance reduction in two months.

Forth Worth, Texas -- Pier I reduced its fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 profit forecasts, blaming the negative impact of severe winter weather. The home furnishings chain is the latest in a series of retailers to credit the extremely cold weather as the main reason for its reduced outlook.

Adverse weather in many of Pier 1 Imports’ major markets has continued to plague the home furnishings retailer, prompting president and CEO Alex W. Smith to update fourth-quarter and full-year expectations.

The severe winter has resulted in considerably softer store traffic and has even forced the retailer to close some stores temporarily, further pressuring fourth quarter sales and merchandise margin.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. on Thursday reported a 12.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit, with its results impacted by heavy discounting during the holidays. The retailer also issued a profit outlook for the full year that is below analysts' expectations, and said it will open 30 additional U.S. stores during fiscal year 2014.

Gap reported net income of $307 million for the three-month period ended Feb. 1, better than the Street expected, down from $351 million in the year-ago period.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Kohl’s Corp.’s reported disappointing fourth-quarter results amid markdowns during the holiday period and increased shipping costs for its e-commerce business.

The chain posted a profit of $334 million for the quarter ended Feb. 1, down from $378 million a year earlier. Total sales dropped 3.8% to about $6.1 billion from $6.34 billion. Same-store sales were down 2%. Kohl’s cited the impact of the 53rd week in fiscal 2012 as a driver of its declines.