Supply Chain & Merchandising

Ulta Beauty came out of the first quarter starting gate strong, with earnings that easily topped Wall Street estimates and big increases in store and online sales.       While online sales are growing at a fast pace, the beauty products and services retailer isn't slowing down its store growth. It said it will open 100 new stores in its current fiscal year.    

Knowing efficient in-store fulfillment is key to omnichannel success, Browns Shoes has just taken a big step toward optimizing these orders.      Browns Shoes, a family-owned business established in Montreal in 1940, owns and operates more than 60 retail stores throughout Canada. When the retailer merged its e-commerce channel with its brick-and-mortar operations, Browns was ready to use its retail network as another fulfillment avenue.   

Demand for gaming and mobile products boosted Best Buy’s first-quarter comparable sales, as the retailer beat the Street on profit and sales.   Best Buy revenues rose 1% to $8.53 billion for the period ended April 29, 2017, beating analysts’ estimates of $8.28 billion, from $8.44 billion in the year-ago period. Net income fell to $188 million, or 60 cents a share, easily beating the Street and down from $229 million, or 70 cents per share a year earlier when it benefitted from some settlement proceeds.   

Amid slumping first quarter sales, Signet Jewelers on Thursday announced the first phase of the strategic outsourcing of its in-house credit program, in partnerships with Alliance Data and Progressive Leasing, a subsidiary of Aaron's.  

A strong performance by Hollister helped Abercrombie & Fitch Co. beat first quarter sales and earnings expectations even as its namesake brand continues to struggle.    The teen apparel retailer's better than expected quarterly showing comes as speculation about its future heats up. Abercrombie previously confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with several parties regarding a sale of the company. 

There was a glimmer of good news in Sears Holdings Corp.'s first quarter earnings report.    

CBRE’s Melina Cordero, an expert in consumer behavior, has produced a series of videos to instruct brick-and-mortar retailers in how to get more results at the point-of-sale.   The first three of these can be viewed on CBRE’s new retail innovation website.   

Even with a double-digit sales increase, Lowe's Companies still managed to disappoint analysts with first quarter profit and comparable sales that missed their estimates.   Sales rose 10.7% to $16.9 billion, up from $15.2 billion in 2016. Same-store sales rose 1.9%, below the 2.6% increase expected by analysts polled by Consensus Metrix.