Retail

Breaking the cycle of promotional ridiculousness at Jos. A. Bank is proving to be a far worse drag on sales and profits than parent company Men’s Wearhouse expected.

Men’s Wearhouse revealed the cost of breaking the promotional cycle at the acquired Jos. A. Bank stores on Nov. 6 when CEO Doug Ewert announced a huge downward revision to the combined company’s third quarter and full-year sales and profit outlook.

While Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market struggle to eke out sales growth and profit, Sprouts Farmers Market is quietly emerging as a perennial winner in the grocery sector.

Sprouts reported its third quarter results this week, and the company's financials exceeded company guidance and even Wall Street estimates.

The grocery chain reported results for the 13-week third quarter ended Sept. 27 that included:

• Net sales of $903.1 million, an 18% increase from the same period in 2014

Tommy Bahama brings its combination retail/restaurant concept to Honolulu, opening a 19,200-sq.-ft. flagship in the beachfront neighborhood of Waikiki.

The three-level space houses a ground-floor retail space, a second story restaurant, and a rooftop lounge complete with a patio featuring a sand floor and fire pits.

Uniquely Hawaiian details demonstrate authenticity throughout the space, which is open and airy has a traditional indoor/outdoor feeling.

Paster Properties, a developer and manager of retail projects in Minnesota, and Bader Development, a multi-family property developer and manager, have partnered to develop a six-story, 155,000-sq.-ft., mixed-use redevelopment project in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

For a variety of retailers – from supermarkets, to restaurants, to department and convenience stores – the holiday shopping season represents the peak time of year for staffing up on temporary workers to help meet all of the increase in consumer demand.

Dishonest employees and shoplifters pushed shrink rates to record levels and earned the United States the distinction of leading the world in the least desirable of retail metrics.

According to retailers surveyed for the Global Retail Theft Barometer, shrink rose in the U.S. from 1.28% of sales in 2013-2014 to 1.97% during 2014-2015. Globally, this compares to 1.42% , a figure also up from the previous .94% average of all common retailers surveyed the previous year.

The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Lowe's to refund up to 10% of flooring installation fees paid by more than 16,000 customers. The Associated Press reports that Lowe’s, with 64 New York stores, overcharged the customers with a deceptive sales practice that it has since agreed to halt. The retailer had offered installation of carpeting, tile, wood and laminate flooring by third-party contractors at square-foot rates that were applied to materials bought, not those actually installed.

Photo: From left: Sarah Amundsen, Target Corp.; Lee Peterson, WD Partners; and Erin Tyler, Target Corp.