Retail

Another sign of further improvement in the nation’s housing market were results from leading paints manufacturer and retailer Sherwin-Williams, whose net sales for the quarter ended June 30 were $2.71 billion, up 5.5% from the same quarter last year. 

Net sales in the Paint Stores Group increased 8% to $1.61 billion. The company's total net income for the quarter was $257.3 million, up 12.9% from the second quarter of 2013.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Regional shopping center company Crosland Southeast has acquired 24 former Blockbuster stores from Blockbuster Corporate, spanning North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and Florida. Blockbuster vacated all stores at closing, and Crosland Southeast has already sold 11 of the 24.

Minneapolis – Supervalu Inc. reported a higher net loss and lower net income during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net loss totaled $105 million, up from $18 million year earlier, although one-time after-tax charges of $139 million pushed Supervalu into the red. Net sales were $5.16 billion, a 1.5% drop from $5.24 billion a year earlier.

Walter Loeb has been a part of the retail industry longer than many of the retail executives running Walmart have been alive. And he, like many retail analysts who follow the company, have marveled at its accomplishments over the years.

However, that wasn’t the case earlier this week when Loeb let Walmart have it over what he regarded as deplorable store standards.

Chicago – Crocs Inc. has selected ShopperTrak to provide retail traffic counting and analytics in store locations worldwide. In November 2012, Crocs started using a managed service from ShopperTrak at more than 170 stores. It completed a global rollout in spring 2013.

The Global Market Development Center has appointed Jason Weber as its new member services manager and Joshua Manweiler as its new communications specialist as part of its strategy to enhance membership services. 

By Mike Harris, [email protected]

MINNEAPOLIS — According to Kantar Media’s Marx report, retailer promotion activity continued to grow with a 21.6% increase to more than 11.3 billion pages in the first half of 2013, with Walmart leading in retailer activity.

Following on Walmart’s heels were Walgreens, Target and Family Dollar.