Department Store

By Dave Spargo, [email protected]

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28 slid 5.2% to $981 million, from $1.04 billion in the prior year.

Revenue increased 3.3% to $20.94 billion, missing Wall Street’s expected $21.23 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 2.2%.

Heavy discounting during the holiday season cut into fourth-quarter profits, but Target still is forecasting a full-year profit outlook that beats analysts’ expectations.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. has named Jill Stanton to the newly-created role as creative advisor for Old Navy, and Liz Meltzer as senior VP of Gap International Merchandising.

Stanton will work with the Old Navy design and merchandising teams to provide a fresh perspective and insights to the brand. Her career spans more than 25 years in apparel retail, starting with global retailers Next and Marks and Spencer. She also has more than a decade of experience with Nike, ultimately serving as VP global apparel.

By HeeSun Kim and Young Rok Park

Imagine a place where department stores are destinations for retail and social activity, where the mere mention of the term “department store” still conjures fond memories of day-long family outings in the city. Fifty years ago, this could have been any major city in the United States, but the current epicenter of the design revolution in large-format retail, culture and fashion is on the opposite side of the planet, specifically in Seoul, South Korea.

Fire safety presents extra challenges to retail locations. Stores are filled with combustibles that aid the spread of fire and smoke. And confusing store layouts impede escape during emergencies. The results can be expensive: loss of revenue from store closures, and worse, loss of life.

Chain Store Age spoke with three leading fire safety experts as to what steps retailers could take to avert fire disasters. Here are their top 10 recommendations.

1. WATCH THE STOCK

New York City -- Canadian department store retailer The Bay is testing a virtual greeter at its Toronto flagship, according to the Globe & Mail.

The greeter, a life-like digital image of a female that is projected on a glass panel, is located near an interactive display of high-end gifts on the main floor. Named Anna, the image is prompted by sensors in the ceiling to start talking when customers approach.

The system was developed by 4D Retail Technology Corp., according to the report.

WASHINGTON — Retailers hoping to see a boost in sales this tax season may be out of luck as more Americans this year plan to save their refunds.

The National Retail Federation's tax returns consumer survey, conducted by BIGinsight, found that 43.8% of those expecting refunds will save some of that money, up from 42.l% who said so last year and the most in the survey’s nine-year history. Two-thirds (66.2%) of tax payers are expecting a refund this year, the exact same as last year.

How much is a brand worth? If the brand in question happens to be Walmart, the answer is an eye-popping $139 billion, according to Interbrand Design Forum’s ranking of the top 50 U.S. retail brands by brand value. The study calculates the financial net worth of retail brands based on three metrics: the brand’s financial performance, the role the brand plays in driving consumer selection, and the ability of the brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.