Sales & Marketing

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — With BJ's no longer reporting monthly sales, Costco is the only warehouse-club retailer left to give some insight regarding how Sam's Club performs on monthly basis. With Costco delivering positive comps for the month, it is safe to assume that Sam's and BJ's have garnered their fair share of the market.

New York City -- Consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters. However, while the October results were not as promising as some retailers had hoped, sales for the most part rose and most chains reported results that were only slightly off from analysts’ estimates. Some analysts blamed Wall Street for underestimating how much caution is still out there.

NEW YORK — Kohl's Corp. reported a 3.9% rise in same-store sales in October, better than analysts’ expectations, amid strong demand for its new Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony brands.

In a statement, CEO Kevin Mansell said that customers responded favorably to the pair of new brands, as well as the company's marketing programs.

“As we enter the important fourth quarter, we plan to continue our investment in marketing, especially digital and broadcast, to drive customer traffic and broaden our reach,” he said.

New York City -- Macy’s said Thursday that it will a full-line Bloomingdale’s in Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., in fall 2013.

The 120,000-sq.-ft., two-level store will headline an upscale redevelopment of the center being planned by its owner, General Growth Properties. The top two floors of the former Mervyn’s location will be entirely remodeled by Bloomingdale’s, with construction expected to begin in 2012.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Customers who can't wait to get their hands on the latest "Call of Duty" video game are in for some good news courtesy of Walmart. The retailer announced that on Nov. 7 in more than 2,700 stores customers can play "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3." The event begins at 8 p.m. (local time) and will include tournaments and the chance to win double experience points with every purchase of specially-marked 20-packs of Mountain Dew, exclusively at Walmart.

NEW YORK —Totsy, a private sales site dedicated to offering exclusive deals to parents, babies and children, announced that it has named a new chief technology officer and a new creative director.

The company has appointed Richard Minns as chief technology officer. Minns brings 15 years of corporate experience in technology and e-commerce, most recently from 1800FLOWERS.com.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters reported Wednesday that sales for the quarter ended Oct. 29 rose 11% to $832 million, compared with $752 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales increased 5% for the quarter, following a 1% rise for the same period last year.

By banner, American Eagle posted a 5% comp increase and Aerie comps surged 8%.

INDIANAPOLIS — Electronic retailer Hhgregg reported net income of $6 million for the second quarter ended Sept. 30, or 16 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $3.9 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, for the comparable prior-year period. According to the company, the increase in net income for the second quarter was the result of an increase in net sales due to the net addition of 35 stores during the past 12 months and a comparable-store sales increase of 1.5%.