Sales & Marketing

Jay Carney spent three years parsing words as president Barack Obama’s top spokesman and now has joined Amazon.com as senior vice president of worldwide corporate affairs, according to Politico.

Watsonville, Calif. – Expenses in benefits, share-based compensation, and inventory that exceeded forecasts helped keep West Marine Inc. in the red during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. West Marine reported a net loss of $10.3 million, a small improvement from the $11.3 million net loss it reported in the same quarter the prior fiscal year.

Net revenues grew 9% to $129.4 million from $118.8 million. The addition of a 53rd week in fiscal 2014 helped boost that figure. Same-store sales rose 2.8%.

Apparently a lot of consumers shopped for lingerie and bath products this holiday season, if the profits at L Brands Inc. are any indication.

The Columbus, Ohio-based parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works reported that it earned $564.8 million, or $1.89 a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $489.6 million, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier. Net sales rose 7% to $4.07 billion and same store sales rose 6%.

Chico’s FAS Inc. has revealed plans to close more stores, cut jobs and decrease its capital spending to $100 million for fiscal 2015, a 29% decrease to its three-year average.

Jacksonville, Fla. - Firehouse Subs, a fast-casual restaurant chain with more than 860 locations, is enacting a nationwide rollout of Apple Pay. Firehouse Subs now offers customers the option to make mobile payments from their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and soon Apple Watch.

New York – Retail CEOs have a lot of worries on their minds. According to a new survey of CEOs from PwC, 74% of retail CEOs are nervous about shifting consumer spending patterns, and 59% are nervous about the disruptive potential of new distribution channels. Nearly half (47%) are nervous about the pace at which technology is evolving.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will open a new store in north Jacksonville, Florida.  The opening is slated for Feb. 28.

The new store is located in Highland Square at Dunn Avenue and Monaco Drive off Interstate 95. Florida is the retailer’s third largest state with a total of 25 stores. Including this new location, dd’s Discounts will operate over 150 locations in 15 states.
 

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl's Corp. reported better-than-expected profit for its fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong holiday sales.
 
The retailer earned $369 million for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $334 million a year ago.

Total sales were up 3.9% to $6.34 billion from $6.1 billion in the year-ago period, also better than expected. Same-store sales increased 3.7%, a significant improvement after five straight quarters of decline.