Costco Wholesale Corp.

In the sales versus margins battle at Costco, sales got the upper hand during the holiday season and the company’s second quarter ended Feb. 16.

Walmart didn’t mention competitive issues as a source of sales weakness during its fourth quarter, but reports this week from Kroger and Costco indicate they were at least a contributing factor.

Ottawa, Canada -- Well-executed dynamic pricing strategies, such as those deployed by Amazon and Overstock, led to higher sales during the 2013 holiday season as opposed to all-season discounting and other strategies. In its “Retail’s 2013 Holiday Winners and Losers” report, pricing intelligence vendor 360pi rated retailers’ overall financial performance for the 2013 fourth quarter on a scale from +5 (above expectations/excellent) to -5 (below expectations/very poor) based on third-party financial analysts’ overall assessments.

New York -- Traditional retail categories are increasingly blurring, and more and more shoppers are turning to drug stores and other types of outlets to buy groceries, according to a survey of Millenial, Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers. The study was conducted by retail design firm King Retail Solutions in conjunction with the University of Arizona Center for Retailing.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Customer satisfaction improved for a third consecutive year for retail. According to a report released by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the retail sector overall gained 1.7% to an ACSI benchmark of 77.9, boosted by higher customer satisfaction with specialty retail stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and gasoline service stations.

The Hertz Corp. and Costco in the U.K. have teamed up to bring short-term Hertz 24/7 van rental to Costco's members.

The self-drive service operates at all 25 Costco warehouses in the U.K. Costco's members can hire a van from the warehouse car parks to drive their purchased items home immediately.

Sidney, Neb. — Cabela’s Inc. plans to enter three new markets in 2015 and 2016. The retailer will open new stores in Ammon, Idaho; Short Pump, Va.; and Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.

Acosta Sales & Marketing acquired Anderson Daymon Worldwide, a sales and marketing agency focused exclusively on Costco.

Anderson Daymon Worldwide has had a relationship with Costco since 1983 and currently has 200 employees and 11 regional offices in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company exclusively serves Costco. As part of the transaction, Daymon Worldwide, which operates a product demonstration division called Interactions, will no longer hold an interest in the Costco business and will not be affiliated with the newly created Acosta division.

Cabela's revenue and earnings per share for 2013 grew at a double-digit rate for the fifth consecutive year, according to CEO Tommy Millner. However, despite an 18% increase in net income year-over-year to $80.1 million from $68 million, results for the fourth quarter did not meet the company’s expectations.

Millner explained that the two biggest short-term factors affecting results in the quarter were a much sharper-than-expected decline in ammunition sales as compared to last year’s surge and a softer-than-expected holiday season.

New York -- Snowstorms and bitterly cold weather took a bite out of sales for some retailers in January. One of the retailers feeling the chill was Fred’s, which posted a 1.8% decline in January same-store sales.

"The weather was a significant challenge for us in January," said CEO Bruce Efird, who added that it disrupted shopping patterns, but also resulted in “more than 120 store closings during the final week of the month."