eCommerce

Phoenix, Ariz. -- Net income at Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. soared 79% to $26.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $14.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. A reduction in pretax losses helped boost net income growth.  

New Albany, Ohio –- Abercrombie & Fitch reported net sales of $911.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2014, less than Wall Street forecast, down 12% from $1.03 billion in the year-ago period. The chain cited slowing mall traffic and weaker results in the latter part of the quarter.   

By John M. Pierre, Linguastat    The single greatest challenge that retailers face today is to have an individualized “conversation” with each customer and to do so on a global scale. Consumers expect a similar personalized experience regardless of channel, from the marketing offers they receive to the products that appear in search results.  

Brisbane, Calif. –- Net loss at Bebe Stores Inc. increased to $10.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, up from $7.9 million the same period the prior fiscal year. Loss from discontinued operations boosted total net loss.   Net sales from continuing operations were $102.2 million, a decrease of 6.5% from $109.3 million, primarily as a result of store closures. Same-store sales grew 0.7%, the first quarterly same-store sales increased reported by Bebe since fiscal 2012.

New York -- Amazon has quietly launched another hardware device, a  voice-recognition device called Echo that doubles as a high-tech music speaker. The 9-inch tall cylinder device sells for $199 but is available for $99 for a limited time to Prime members. It is designed around the user’s voice, which it can hear from across a room.   

San Jose, Calif. –- EBay is launching a collaboration with artist and illustrator Mario Wagner to create an interactive art installation in New York City. Titled Art For All, the installation celebrates the recent launch of EBay’s new live auctions experience, which makes a selection of art and collectibles from auction houses around the world available on EBay.   

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples Inc. is launching holiday in-store, online and mobile deals starting Nov. 16 through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In addition to discounts on a variety of items, Staples is offering an in-store and online price match guarantee, a new mobile app with a redesigned weekly ad page, daily deals on Staples.com, and shopping from in-store kiosks for items not available in the store.  

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market reported that its net income rose a better-than-expected 5.8% to $128 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 28, 2014, from $121 million in the year-ago period.  The company also said it plans to open 38 to 42 stores, including five to six relocations, in fiscal 2015.