Sales & Marketing

City of Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Dec. 29 rose 6.5% to $51 million, compared with $47.9 million in the year-ago period.

Total sales increased 8.8% to $35.6 million, from $403.9 million last year. Same-store sales rose 4.3%.

The company said it plans to open six stores during the fourth quarter, with most slated to open in California.
 

GLENDALE, Calif. — Nestle today announced new additions to its line of Valentine’s Day offerings.

This season's collection includes the new Wonka Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip Mystery Flavor Valentine Exchange Kit. Returning this year are Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip Valentine Exchange Kit, Nestlé Crunch and Butterfinger Hearts, Wonka's best-selling Nerds , Pixy Stix, or Laffy Taffy Candy and Card Kits, Wonka Sweetarts Lollipops and Wonka Sweetarts Hearts.

ATLANTA — Retail merchandising solutions provider, Predictix, has named Tom Fischer managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Fischer will be responsible for managing Predictix’ EMEA sales, client implementation and support activities in a growing international business.

RADNOR, Pa. — Search giant Google has agreed to buy Channel Intelligence for $125 million, allowing to expand its role in the retail space. 

A division of ICG Group, Channel Intelligence claims to count Target, Best Buy and other large retailers and brands that rely on its marketing services to drive sales. 

CLEVELAND -- American Greetings has launched a new mobile app that lets users send personalized greetings featuring digital versions of its Taylor Swift line.

New York -- Although there were some surprising gains among retailers in January, for the most part results were expectedly mixed, as consumers took a hit on their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes but cooler weather gave a boost to others.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club will offer free heart health screenings at 563 of its stores on Saturday, the club retailer said.

The screenings, taking place at stores with pharmacies, will include tests valued at up to $100 for glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index and vision screenings.

New York -- There were few missteps among the discounters in January, as most posted strong results, many surpassing Wall Street expectations.

Target reported a same-store sales rise of 3.1%, topping Wall Street expectations. Total sales surged 29.6% to $5.97 billion in January.