Convenience Stores

On the heels of an impressive financial report from rival True Value, Ace Hardware is reporting even better sales in its second quarter.

For the quarter ended July 4, Ace Hardware Corp. had record revenue of $1.4 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 6.5% from last year. Ace’s retail same-store-sales reported by approximately 3,000 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data increased 6.5% and Ace Retail Holdings LLC rose 4.7% due to an increase in customer count and average transaction size.

Franklin, Tenn. – Although mobile POS software installations by North American retailers grew 41% year-to-year, this rate did not meet expectations of analysts and industry experts. According to a new study from IHL Group, “Mobile POS Software Market Share,” the enterprise market of retailers with more than 50 stores only delivered 59% year-over-year growth, well below the expected 100% increase.

Bentonville, Ark. -- In a shift to quality over quantity, Walmart has cut expansion plans for its Neighborhood Market stores despite the format’s consistently strong top line growth in recent years.

New York - RDG Capital Fund Management, a shareholder of TravelCenters of America, is recommending a major financial step. RDG has delivered a letter to the TravelCenters board of directors strongly recommending a $100 million share buyback that RDG estimates would increase stock price by more than 33% to $17 per share.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart saw respectable U.S. sales growth in the second quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome expense pressures and a weak dollar. These negative factors caused the company to turn in one of its worst quarterly profit performances in recent memory.

 In a shift to quality over quantity, Walmart has cut expansion plans for its Neighborhood Market stores despite the format’s consistently strong top line growth in recent years.

Chicago -- Transwestern’s Chicago office announced it brokered the sale of Town Square of Schaumburg, a 96,014 sq. ft. retail center, in Schaumburg, Illinois, for an undisclosed amount to Tony’s Finer Foods. Tony’s Finer Foods plans to open a Tony’s in the former Dominick’s space, which closed in December 2013.

New York – As millennial moms are making back-to-school preparations that include planning school lunches, many are turning to their peers and the Internet to get ideas. According to a survey of millennial moms about their back-to-school lunch plans by online review site Influenster, word of mouth (79%) is the top influencer for school lunch shopping decisions.

That is followed by online reviews (59%), social media (57%), brand websites (43%), television (37%), news websites (16%) and newspapers (15%).

New York – Organized crime groups targeting retail have a new opponent. Multiple retailers and law enforcement agencies across multiple locations and jurisdictions are banding together to form the Retail Organized Crime Coalition (ROCC).

The ROCC, which will officially launch and introduce its members at the Retail Fraud – New York conference on Sept. 24, will combat chronic retail organized crime through case referrals, education and the distribution of timely intelligence.

Bellingham, Wash. – West Coast regional grocer Haggen is scaling back some highly ambitious growth plans. Haggen, which made headlines by buying 146 divested Albertson’s and Safeway stores as an 18-unit chain in December 2014, is closing or selling a number of locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.