Mass Merchant

As Barnes & Noble tries to write a new, more profitable chapter by spinning off its college division, the company reported that its Nook division is still weighing on revenue. 

The company said same store sales at Barnes & Noble Inc. (excluding Nook) increased 1.7% in the third quarter, which ended Jan. 31. Analysts had estimated a 1% decline. Taking Nook sales into account, same store sales declined .3%. Third quarter revenue of $1.96 billion declined $35 million as compared to the prior year.

There has been a lot of discussion in the last several years about the strength of the grocery sector. I think it’s clear that a big reason behind that success has been the evolution of different formats and the explosive growth of a new generation of grocery concepts that represent a significant departure from the traditional grocery model.

Philadelphia -- Tween and teen retailer Five Below will open three stores in Alabama, its first ever in the state, on March 13.

The stores, which average 7,500 sq.-ft. each, are located in Huntsville, Florence and Gadsden.

"Entering Alabama is an important next step as we continue to grow our footprint across the country," said Joel Anderson, CEO of Five Below. "We're excited to open the first of what we hope to be many stores in this great state.”  

Washington, D.C -- The International Council of Shopping Centers applauded the introduction by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2015 in the 114th Congress. This legislation is aimed at ending the special treatment afforded online-only sellers at the expense of brick-and-mortar retailers, according to ICSC. It tracks closely with legislation that the Senate passed by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority in 2013.

Ross Stores is less than two months into its new fiscal year and already the company is halfway home on its 2015 new store growth plan and asserting its long term potential.

Ross confirmed that since the beginning of its fiscal year on Feb. 1, it opened 32 Ross Dress for Less stores and five dd’s Discounts stores in 15 states.

The company’s full year plan disclosed when fourth quarter results were released on Feb. 26, calls for 70 Ross stores and 20 dd’s Discounts stores.

Seattle -- Nordstrom will open a full-line store in the new regional shopping center being developed by General Growth Properties in Norwalk, Connecticut.  

The three-level, 150,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2018 and will be the company's second full-line store in the state. The company opened its first Nordstrom in Connecticut in 1997 near Hartford at Westfarms Mall in Farmington.

By Gregg Aamoth, CEO, POPcodes

The onset of 2015 marked a huge change in shipping costs, and as a result retailers are struggling to find ways to maintain their bottom lines. As of Jan. 1, packages are now being evaluated by their “dimensional weight,” or volume, instead of determining price by weight alone. Experts say that the when combined with other annual rate hikes and surcharges, the resulting average rate increases will be as high as 30% or more.

Former Safeway executive Keith Colbourn has joined Coupons.com in a new retail oriented role focused on targeting and analytics.