Sales & Marketing

Atlanta – Expense from a pension settlement and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs drove Havertys into the red for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported a net loss of $10.19 million, compared to net income of $9.68 million the same period a year earlier.

North Bergen, N.J. – Vitamin Shoppe Inc. expects to open about 60 new stores during fiscal 2015. This plan follows a successful fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, with a net income increase of 3% to $11.6 million from $11.2 million the same period the prior year.

A lower selling, general and administrative (SG&A) rate helped boost net income. Total net sales increased 13% to $290.1 million compared to $256.4 million. Same-store sales grew 1.7% and e-commerce same-store sales rose 5.6%.

Home Depot posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter performance, but warned that a strong dollar could hurt its results for the year.

The retailer posted an 8.3% increase in sales to $19.2 billion, and fourth quarter net earnings were up 36.1% to $1.38 billion. Same store sales for the quarter were positive 7.9%, and positive 8.9% for U.S. stores.

New York - Luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman has partnered with Borderfree, a provider of international cross-border e-commerce solutions, to open its website and sell to international shoppers with BFX, Borderfree’s new global e-commerce platform for retailers.

Petco is leveraging the popularity of raw pet food by launching a series of educational events at some of its stores.

Starting on March 2, on the first Monday of each month, Unleashed by Petco stores will sample a variety of frozen, dehydrated and freeze-dried raw food and treats and educate customers on the health benefits of raw food as part of the Monday Night Raw Next-Level Nutrition event series.

New York -- American Express has officially launched its Small Merchant EMV Assistance Program, which was announced last October by President Obama. The nationwide campaign was created to help U.S. small merchants fight fraud through a $10 million reimbursement program designed to accelerate adoption of EMV payment terminals. It will also arm small merchants with knowledge about EMV’s security benefits.

Phoenix – PetSmart Inc. launched an omnichannel campaign around the joys and struggles of “pethood” – or pet parenthood, with a TV commercial during the Feb. 22 Academy Awards telecast. The campaign will include short films and ads shown on TV and online, and include print, digital and social media components.

Walgreens is opening a massive new store, the drug chain's 15th flagship, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The new store is 35,000-plus feet and is Walgreens' 12th store on Oahu and 18th in Hawaii.

The store also boasts culturally inspired design reflective of elements of traditional Hawaiian architecture, as well as components of the natural landscape.