Sales & Marketing

General Mills’ third-quarter sales and operating profit reflected lower volumes. The company said weak food industry trends during the period as a result of a severe winter affected its results, as did increased consumer marketing and merchandising investment in its U.S. yogurt business.

Net sales for the quarter ended Feb. 23 totaled $4.38 billion, down 1% from year-ago levels. Third-quarter net earnings totaled $411 million and diluted earnings per share totaled 64 cents per share.  

By Dave Richards, Accenture

We shop almost every day – picking something up at the drug store or buying lunch, clothes shopping or getting groceries, looking for a gift or checking out a promotion – and we are doing this on the way to work, at work, at night while watching TV, online, at a store and increasingly across mobile devices. There is one thing that unites consumers in all of these instances: we expect the experience to be unified, personalized, constant, connected and, above all, seamless.
 

Ikea wants to expand the warehouse of its Detroit-area store in Canton, Mich. As a result, Ikea Canton, which opened June 2006 at 311,000 sq. ft., would grow to approximately 355,000 sq. ft. Initial utility work would begin this summer with actual construction starting in autumn. The store would remain open and operational during construction, maintaining its full product offering throughout the project’s completion in spring 2015.

San Francisco -- Guess Inc. saw fourth-quarter profits slide 4% on softer sales in the three-month period.

Net income fell to $69.6 million from $72.5 million, and revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 1 dipped to $768.4 million from $815.1 million. Revenue results still beat Wall Street expectations of $758 million.

The Avenue has used Partners in Education programs to foster community relations since 1998. These programs provide marketing opportunities for each of the five Avenue properties in the Southeast.

Taking a cue from the TLC television show “What Not to Wear,” for example, The Avenue worked with high school fashion marketing students to award $1,000 makeover packages including wardrobe, hair, makeup and other prizes. More than 40 teachers applied for the makeover, which was sponsored by Van Michael Salon, LensCrafters, Chico’s, Talbots and Aerosoles.

Waban, Mass. -- Sam's Club and Amazon.com deliver the best customer experience in the retail industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers. Sam's Club and Amazon.com continue their reign as the highest-rated retailers for the third straight year, each earning an "excellent" rating.

Anaheim, Calif. – Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. reported a net loss of $22.5 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, up from a net loss of $19.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales dropped 2% to $218.6 million $222.8 million, while same-store sales rose 2%.

Pacific Sunwear cited the 53rd week in fiscal 2012 as negatively affecting its comparative fiscal 2013 results. Looking ahead, the retailer expects a same-store sales increase of 1 to 4% and revenues of $169 million to $174 million during fiscal 2014.

Dallas — SRS real Estate Partners has appointed Adam Baxter as first VP in the Birmingham office. He will focus on tenant and landlord representation in the Birmingham market.