Seasonal

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Meijer is launching a major initiative to upgrade its fashion offerings. The omnichannel initiative includes regional advertising in national fashion magazines, the distribution of a spring Look Book, and the use of social media, including Instagram, as well as a new website, meijerstyle.com.

Meijer’s style team is led by Lynn Hempe, the retailer's group VP of softlines, and includes her buying team and input from fashion advisor, Mariana Keros,

Against the backdrop of a growing national debate over the minimum wage and part-time versus full-time workers, Home Depot has begun a huge seasonal hiring surge in preparation for spring.

The nation's largest home improvement retailer said it planned to hire approximately 80,000 seasonal employees, many of whom are part-time, the same day that President Barack Obama was expected to sign an executive order unilaterally increasing to $10.10 the minimum wage the federal government pays contract workers.

Atlanta -- Consumer spending growth declined from December to January, but remained relatively healthy at 2.5%, according to First Data’s January 2014 SpendTrend report. SpendTrend tracks same-store point-of-sale data by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks from nearly four million U.S. merchant locations serviced by First Data. The report cited the severe winter weather that pummeled the Midwest and eastern half of the country as a factor in the decline.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to drop 8.4% in February from the same time last year as the shipping cycle reaches its slowest month of the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters reported substantial gains in net sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Total company sales in the quarter increased 6% to $906 million, less than Wall Street expected, from $856.8 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store retail segment net sales, which include the direct-to-consumer channel, increased 1%. Same-store retail segment net sales increased 20% at Free People and 10% at Anthropologie and decreased 9% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales rose 24%.

The shortened holiday season and cold weather that hurt many retailers didn’t faze Dick’s Sporting Good, where same-store sales are expected to be double what the company originally forecast.

The nation’s largest sporting goods retailer said same-store sales adjusted to account for a shift in the reporting calendar increased 6% compared to expectations of a 2% to 3% increase.

Pittsburgh – Same-store sales at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. rose 6% during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, unshifted for the 53rd week in fiscal 2012. The same-store sales results compare to guidance provided in November 2013 for a 2% to 3% increase on an unshifted basis.

Supervalu plans to host its first-ever national sales expo, Sales 4 All Seasons, this summer.