Home Depot

Logistics and supply chain executives from such retail powerhouses as Walmart, Target, Hudson’s Bay Company,  7-Eleven, Neiman Marcus, and The Home Depot will be among the speakers at the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s annual Retail Supply Chain Conference.

Brand-building consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual “Brands to Watch” list for 2017. There are 26 companies on the list, with retail and social media brands accounting for 10 of the spots.  Here’s a review:   Barnes & Noble. The venerable bookstore chain has let its CEO go, lowered sales expectations, and shrunk its footprint by dozens of stores. Meanwhile Amazon Books is opening stores. Is 2017 the year B&N’s death will become imminent?!  

Sales were up in the third quarter, but Lowe’s Companies’ financial performance impressed neither its investors nor its CEO.   The home improvement retailer’s net income dropped dramatically, owing to $462 million non-cash pre-tax charges. Net income declined to $379 million, compared to $736 million in the same quarter last year.  

There was a lot for Home Depot executives to like about the company’s third-quarter performance. The company reported sales growth of 6.1% and net earnings growth of 14.1%.   Beyond the numbers, here are some of the key takeaways form the company’s presentation to investors.   • Digital growth

The Home Depot on Tuesday reported sales and earnings for its third quarter that exceeded forecasts.    The world’s largest home improvement retailer posted a double-digit increase in earnings during the quarter, which it characterized as a balanced across-the-board period of growth.    Net sales jumped 6.1% to $23.2 billion, compared to $21.8 billion in the same quarter last year.   Comparable-store sales in the U.S. increased 5.9%. 

DLC Management Corp.’s joint acquisition of 16 properties with DRA Advisors this month increased the square footage of its portfolio by 26% and its dollar value by 17%. DLC president and CEO Adam Ifshin aims to increase that dollar contribution in the years to come.    “We don’t buy value-add properties and baby-sit them,” he told Chain Store Age. “We come to them with a business plan and ask ourselves ‘How do we add value?’”  

The chip card (EMV) era has arrived with the promise that data in retail environments will be better protected. Cardholders will have much greater security at the point of sale with their own card data. But, while it will be much more difficult for thieves to steal card data at the point of swipe, the hackers are still hacking and data is still being lost – almost daily.