Sales & Marketing

Expectations outpaced the willingness of consumers to spend during December, as large numbers of retailers reported results that were less than expected. Weather certainly affected the ability of shoppers to get to stores, as heavy rains pelted California and blizzards hit the Northeast, but that type of stuff happens in December. A bigger factor was that retailers were victims of their own success. Recall November was something of a promotionpalooza and shoppers found offers that arrived early and often to be irresistible.

Berwyn, Penn. -- Retailers are likely to experience high demand for winter goods during the upcoming week. Beginning this weekend and carrying through next week, virtually all of North America should prepare for below normal temperatures, according to Planalytics. Most locations east of the Rockies can expect temperatures to trend 10°F to 20°F colder than both normal and last year, with the main exception being the Southwest where temperatures will trend normal to slightly above normal.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Ebay has announced that it will engage fashion publishing innovator and style luminary Andrea Linett as creative director for Ebay fashion. Working with Ebay’s fashion business, marketing and communications units for North America, and the company’s technology team, Linett will drive the creative vision for the company’s multibillion-dollar fashion business and will be responsible for advancing the image, voice and editorial style for the marketplace’s clothing, shoes and accessories category, the company reported.

NEW YORK -- On the heels of a strong November, some department store retailers reported surprisingly weak December revenue. Results were impacted by a blizzard in the Northeast, which took a bite out of sales after Christmas.

The results raised some worries that the holiday season might be less stellar than some had hoped. Still, much of Wall Street still predicts that November and December spending will show the largest annual increase since 2006.

New York City -- After coming off a strong November, retailers found their momentum waned in December, with many turning in mixed sales for the month. Industry experts said sales were impacted by a still-cautious consumer and the blizzard the crippled the Northeast in the days immediately following Christmas.

Thomson Reuters, which tracks same-store sales for a group of 28 national chains, said total sales for the group were expected to post a 3.4% increase in same-store sales for December, following a 5.6% bump in November.

MINNEAPOLIS - Despite an easy prior-year comparison, Target fell short of its December same-store sales guidance with a disappointing 0.9% gain. The company had forecast December comps in the low to mid single-digit range after it released November results, which saw comps advance 5.5%. Analysts were expecting the company to report a 4% December gain.

Richardson, Texas -- Wingstop announced it will add another 20 stores in Mexico over the next three years thanks to an extended development agreement with current international franchisee WIS de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

Wingstop has more than 475 restaurants open across the United States and Mexico.

“We are thrilled with our success in Mexico over this past year,” said David Vernon, VP franchise sales for Wingstop.

Parsippany, N.J. -- CyberShift, a provider of workforce management services and solutions, has added Metropark, a Los Angeles-based specialty chain with 70 stores, to its roster of retail clients. The specialty apparel retailer has deployed CyberShift’s workforce management solution via its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to automate store scheduling and will be expanding the relationship to include time and attendance.