Retail

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has rolled out college-branded Keurig K-Cup Mini Plus brewers, giving students and alumni even more reason to cheer during their daily coffee break.

“Our new collegiate collection of Keurig single cup brewers is a fun, creative way to allow passionate Keurig consumers to showcase their school spirit while enjoying the great variety of Keurig Brewed beverage,” Dwight Brown, SVP marketing, GMCR said.

The National Retail Federation is calling the short-term budget deal reached by Congress this week a step in the right direction for the economy and for retailers.

In a prepared statement, Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF, said legislators must move past partisan differences to resolve lingering fiscal issues.

As expected, shopper activity increased this November as holiday shopping began in earnest. Total retail store shopper traffic increased 19.9% compared to October 2013. Shopper traffic for November 2013, however, decreased by 10.2% compared to the same month last year.

Safeway has named Brian Baer as president of the company's Eastern Division.

"Brian's proven management skills and experience will serve our customer base well in the Eastern Division," stated Kelly Griffith, Safeway EVP retail operations.

Baer joined Safeway in 2001 as VP Finance for the company's Phoenix division. In 2004, he became group VP of finance planning and analysis at the Safeway's corporate headquarters. He joined the Dominick's division as CFO in 2008, and was promoted to president of that division in 2011.

Ulta Beauty posted strong double-digit gains during its third quarter thanks in part to strength in sales of prestige cosmetics and skin care and strong online sales.

Sales for the quarter ended Oct. 27 rose 22.4% to $618.8 million. Same-store sales rose 6.8%, including the impact of e-commerce sales.

Net income increased 19.1% to $45.4 million compared with $38.2 million. Income per diluted share rose 18.6% to 70 cents per share, including 2 cents per diluted share related to a severance charge.

BitPay, a company that allows merchants to use bitcoin, has reported a spike in transactions this year.

The company has processed more than $100 million in transactions this year, and its membership now includes more than 15,500 merchants in 200 countries. The number of merchants has increased by more than 50%, while transaction volume has tripled since the creation of the All Inclusive Pricing Plan in October and the integration with Shopify in November.

At Michaels, a higher gross profit, partially driven by improved merchandise margin, helped to increase its net income for the third quarter ended Nov. 2.

The company’s net income during the quarter soared 66%, rising to $58 million from $35 million in the prior-year quarter. Net sales grew 10%, to $1.1 billion from $1.01 billion. Meanwhile, same-store sales increased 7.9%, driven by a 3.9% increase in transactions and a 3.8% increase in the company's average ticket in addition to a 20 basis point positive impact from deferred custom framing revenue.

Lululemon has named former Toms president Laurent Potdevin as the company’s CEO and elected him to its board of directors. Potdevin succeeds Christine Day, who has served as the company’s CEO since 2008 and announced her intention to resign in June 2013.

Potdevin will become a director when he assumes his duties as CEO in January 2014. Day is expected to remain with Lululemon through the end of the company’s fiscal year to ensure a smooth transition.