Retail

Atlanta – The Home Depot plans to open new eight new stores and increase sales by approximately 5% during fiscal 2014. The retailer released guidance for both fiscal 2013 and 2014 on Dec. 10.

For fiscal 2013, Home Depot has reaffirmed guidance of 5.6% sales growth and 7% same-store sales growth.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has rolled out college-branded Keurig K-Cup Mini Plus brewers, giving students and alumni even more reason to cheer during their daily coffee break.

“Our new collegiate collection of Keurig single cup brewers is a fun, creative way to allow passionate Keurig consumers to showcase their school spirit while enjoying the great variety of Keurig Brewed beverage,” Dwight Brown, SVP marketing, GMCR said.

New York -- Despite a number of economic factors that have shaken consumer confidence lately, including the government shutdown and continued high unemployment rates, retailers and manufacturers believe holiday sales will rise slightly compared to last year, according to Capital Business Credit, a non-bank lender that services the retail sector.

Jupiter, Fla. — The Fresh Market has signed on as anchor tenant at The Shops at Fisherman’s Wharf in Jupiter, Fla., according to Elion Partners, a real estate investment firm that acquired the property in August. The specialty grocer plans to open in the summer of 2014.

Now under renovation, the 5.5-acre shopping plaza will soon resemble a European village with a pedestrian-friendly setting and a selection of new retailers.

The National Retail Federation is calling the short-term budget deal reached by Congress this week a step in the right direction for the economy and for retailers.

In a prepared statement, Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF, said legislators must move past partisan differences to resolve lingering fiscal issues.

New York -- Amazon.com made more than 2.5 million price changes a day throughout November, according to price intelligence firm Profitero. By comparison, in November, Best Buy implemented a total of 52,956 price changes every day and Walmart a total of 54,633 price changes.

Profitero’s analysis revealed that Amazon.com has increased its number of daily price changes 10-fold during the last 12 months. At the beginning of December 2012, the online retailer implemented just 269,113 price changes.

By Keri Dawson, VP, Industry Solutions and Advisory Services, MetricStream, [email protected]

As 2013 comes to an end, the retail/CPG industry is bracing itself for even greater compliance requirements, increased regulatory scrutiny, and more risks resulting from social media, global operations, and multi-tiered supply chains.

As expected, shopper activity increased this November as holiday shopping began in earnest. Total retail store shopper traffic increased 19.9% compared to October 2013. Shopper traffic for November 2013, however, decreased by 10.2% compared to the same month last year.