Sales & Marketing

Growth at Citi Trends Inc. seems to be slowing, as the retailer reported a drop in comps and profit in the fourth quarter.

Dollar General reported record sales and profits last year and plans to extend the streak in 2016 with 900 stores and an even greater number in subsequent years, according to the company’s new financial targets.

In 2015, Dollar General opened 730 new stores and remodeled or relocated 881 stores which combined with a 2.8% same store sales increase allowed it to grow total sales 7.7% to $20.4 billion. The company ended its fiscal year on Jan. 29, with 12,483 stores.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, to get her perspective on what’s going on in the rapidly growing online delivery space.

What is driving growing consumer interest in online delivery?
We’ve got a bunch of players in the industry who are aggregating inventory in a simple, flexible and cost-effective way for last-mile fulfillment. Companies like Amazon and Google are resetting customer expectations of what’s possible.

Ross Dress for Less has added three new locations to its growing portfolio.

The retailer opened two 25,000-sq.-ft. stores in Wisconsin on March 5, including one in Milwaukee, at the Point Loomis Shopping Center. The second store is in Oshkosh, at the Market Fair Shopping Center.

In addition, Ross opened a 30,000-sq.-ft. store in Fountain Valley, California, at the Costco Center. Including the new location, Ross now operates 276 stores in California, its largest state.

Bag, Borrow or Steal, a specialty online retailer that allows consumers to buy, rent and sell luxury handbags and accessories, is all about creating a sense of community.

The CEO of Toys “R” Us sounded an upbeat note on Thursday amid results that showed the chain cut its full-year net loss by more than half in fiscal 2015, and improved its adjusted earnings by 25%.

Women’s apparel specialist Christopher & Banks saw its online sales surge in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the company from posting an even bigger operating loss than it did the prior year.

Fourth quarter profits at Stein Mart were cut in half as the company relied on heavy promotional activity to clear inventory and eke out a 1% same-store sales increase.