Sales & Marketing

Pacific Sunwear overcame weak mall traffic and bad weather to log its eighth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth with a 2% comp increase in the fourth quarter.

The teen and young adult retailer said sales from continuing operations during the quarter ended Feb. 1 totaled $218.6 million compared to sales of $222.8 million during the fourth quarter the prior year, a period which included the benefit of an additional week which added sales of $9 million. PacSun ended its most recent fiscal year with 618 stores compared to 644 in the year earlier period.

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.

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.  

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.

Colorado Springs, Colo. - Accellos, Inc. is launching a new website dedicated toward the unique needs of home goods retailers located at Profitsystems.com. Profitsystems, recently acquired by Accellos in November 2013 and based out of Colorado Springs, Colo., a retail inventory and point of sale system software provider for home goods retailers.

San Mateo, Calif. – Six-in-10 (60%) of those who knew about any data breaches at notable retailers, such as Target and Neiman Marcus, hold the merchant responsible for preventing future incidents of a data breach. The “2014 Consumer Reaction to Financial Data Breaches Study” of more than 2,000 adult U.S. consumers from Feedzai and Harris Interactive also found that 43% think nothing is more aggravating than getting credit/debit card data stolen.

As part of its international growth strategy, Gap plans to open five franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines in 2014.

The first two Old Navy stores will open in Manila this month, and there are plans to open three more stores in the second half of the year for a total of five Old Navy stores this year.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is piloting a new small format convenience concept called “Walmart To Go.” The first Walmart To Go store has opened in Bentonville, Ark., location of the retailer’s corporate headquarters.