Retail

WalmartLabs, Walmart’s online and digital development division, has acquired Seattle-based recipe technology startup Yumprint to expand its online grocery delivery services.

Yumprint has a website and mobile app to search and discover new recipes from thousands of food blogs, plan meals and calculate nutritional information.

In a blog post, WalmartLabs credited Yumprint founders Chris Crittenden and Wes Dyer for their vision on how technology can improve how “all of consumers discover and prepare our meals.”

As far as sales go, Sears Holdings didn’t have a very happy holiday. But the company was still able to narrow its loss for the fourth quarter, as it lowered expenses and reduced inventory.

The company said the costs of transforming into a member-centric retailer using an integrated online platform and the omnichannel Shop Your Way membership program fueled its net losses. It attributed declining revenues to lower same-store sales and having fewer stores in operation.

eBay Enterprise, a leading global provider of commerce technologies, retail order management, fulfillment and customer care services and marketing services for retailers and brands, has extended its partnership with Karmaloop to provide marketing solutions that increase conversion.

Gap 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.

Walmart’s release of a sustainable chemistry implementation guide may not sound like the biggest news to come out of Bentonville, but the directives contained in the document are sure to have wide-ranging implications for suppliers’ products.
 

Kohl’s reported a profit of $334 million, or $1.56 per share, for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1, down from $378 million, or $1.66 a share, a year earlier. The retailer attributed the dip to an increase in e-commerce shipping costs and holiday season markdowns.

But the retailer expressed confidence in its inventory levels and assortment, adding that it is well-positioned for spring and anticipates sales increases.

The Clorox Company has entered into an agreement with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, making it an official partner of the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Federación Mexicana de Futbol (FMF, also known as the Mexican national team).

A slowdown in firearms and ammunition sales as well as severe winter weather affected Big 5 Sporting Goods’ fourth quarter same-store sales.

Net sales increased about 2% to $248 million from $243.6 million, while same-store sales declined 0.5%. During the quarter, net income rose 30% to $5.2 million from $4 million compared to the same period in the prior year.

During the fiscal year, net income almost doubled, rising 87% to $27.9 million from $14.9 million. Net sales improved 6% to $993.3 million from $940.5 million and same-store sales rose 3.9%.