Seasonal

There’s a lot going this week at the Daytona, Fla., area Walmart stores as NASCAR gears up for the start of its season with the Daytona 500. Between special activities in store parking lots and promotions involving NASCAR merchandise, Walmart has effectively positioned itself as the one-stop destination for race fans. While the Daytona 500 is a big deal, it’s really just a warm up act for Walmart.

MINNEAPOLIS  — Target overcame modest fourth-quarter sales growth to report profits that exceeded earnings guidance and also provided a better than expected outlook for 2012.

Losing weight is a little like saving money. Consumers will always intend to do more of both, but then reality sets in and they tend to do neither. Retailers can count on that pattern holding true this year, which is good news because a recent study by the National Retail Federation shows those planning to save their tax refund is at an all time high.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the fourth quarter dropped 7.9% to $455 million, from $494 million a year earlier, as the retailer experienced unexpected revenue declines during the holiday selling period.

Kohl's reported that total sales dipped 0.3% to $6.02 billion in the period, and same-store sales dropped 2.1%. It was the chain’s first revenue decline in three years

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. reported Thursday a loss of $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $374 million in the year-ago period. And in a move long anticipated by some analysts, the chain also announced plans to tap into its massive real estate holdings to help make up for its faltering retail performance.

Revenue slipped 4% to $12.5 billion from $13 billion. Same-store sales fell 4.1% during the quarter at Sears and 2.7% at Kmart.

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree Inc. reported a higher-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter ended on Jan. 28. But the chain forecast quarterly earnings and sales below Wall Street estimates amid rising gasoline prices and increased competition from larger rivals.

For the quarter, net income rose to $187.9 million, from $162.5 million a year earlier.

Sales rose about 12.8% to $1.95 billion. Same-store sales were up 7.3%.

CHESAPEAKE, Va — Dollar Tree's sales and earnings growth for the fourth quarter and fiscal year is just another example of how discounters dominated in 2011. 

The company reported that net sales for the fourth quarter were $1.95 billion, a 12.8% increase compared with $1.73 billion reported for the quarter ended Jan. 29, 2011. Comparable-store sales increased 7.3%, on top of a 3.9% increase for the fourth quarter 2010.

Fire safety presents extra challenges to retail locations. Stores are filled with combustibles that aid the spread of fire and smoke. And confusing store layouts impede escape during emergencies. The results can be expensive: loss of revenue from store closures, and worse, loss of life.

Chain Store Age spoke with three leading fire safety experts as to what steps retailers could take to avert fire disasters. Here are their top 10 recommendations.

1. WATCH THE STOCK