Supermarket/Grocery

Same-stores sales increased 4.2%, total sales increased 4.6% to $12.5 billion and operating profits advanced 10.1% to $536 million.

Impressive is how Sam’s Club president and CEO Rosalind Brewer characterized the warehouse club operator’s performance during the second quarter.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A fourth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth at Walmart’s U.S. business helped the company achieve a slightly better than expected profit performance.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores reported Thursday that net income for the second quarter rose 5.7% to $4.02 billion, compared with $3.8 billion in the year-ago period. Total revenue increased 4.5% to $114.3 billion, but missed Wall Street’s forecasted $115.8 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales in the quarter advanced 2.2%, edging Wall Street expectations but trailing last quarter’s 2.6% same-store sales gain.

The Annual State of the Industry Report is the centerpiece of this issue of Chain Store Age, and it’s a great read. It’s also very timely.

I’ve written before about the ongoing trend of some of the biggest names in retail downsizing. Now I’m seeing how brands like Target, Wal-Mart and Office Depot are rolling out smaller new store formats in urban environments, and it has me thinking about how this downsizing phenomenon might be even more important than many people realize.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced Wednesday it has named Greg Beidler as senior VP store operations for the chain.

Beidler was previously regional operations director for Sam’s Club/Wal-Mart Corp., and has served in management roles for GameStop, Brown Shoe, Circuit City and Athlete’s Foot.

Don’t let the grocery sector shake-ups fool you.

While there are individual failures, the category as a whole continues to find favor among developers that place a premium on having a traffic magnet in their shopping centers.

New York -- The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index, released on Wednesday, decreased slightly in July, marking the first decline since February 2012. 

The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.