Supply Chain & Merchandising

Arlington, Va. -- A breakdown in contract negotiations between labor and management at America’s west coast ports is threatening to turn a work slowdown into a full-scale strike, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) warned.

Conn’s Inc. seemed to be putting their troubles behind them in the fourth quarter, as the company reported a modest increase in same store sales.   The company posted a 4.9% increase in same store sales for January (in January 2014, the company posted an increase of 28.2% mostly due to softer underwriting guidelines). Same store sales for the quarter increased 1.3% and they increased 8% for fiscal 2015.   

New York -- In an indication that the end could be getting close, RadioShack Corp. will close its distribution center in Hagerstown, Maryland, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The move will result in some 87 layoffs.

The report cited the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which said the facility will close March 11. The news of the closing follows reports that the struggling chain is near to filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
 

It was a happy holiday in the home décor category and Kirkland’s is celebrating with the appointment of a new CEO and an elevated profit forecast.

Steinmart plans to pay a $5 special dividend thanks to the availability of low cost financing that allowed the company to more than double the size of its credit facility.

Nashville, Tenn. -- It’s a changing of the guard at Kirkland's. Following its successful holiday performance, the home goods company announced that current president and COO Mike Madden will step into the CEO role, effective Feb. 8. He succeeds Robert Alderson, who will remain on the company’s board, which is being expanded to accommodate his addition.

Boot Barn continued its march of success in the third quarter, which produced another round of positive financial results.

The company reported that for the third quarter ended Dec. 27, net sales increased 13.1% to $130.5 million; same store sales, which include e-commerce sales, increased 7.2%; and net income was $8.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $6.3 million or $0.33 per diluted share.

New York -- A mixed economic backdrop is expected to drive modest retail sales growth in the 3% to 4% range in 2015, compared to 5.5% average growth in 2010-2012 and 5.8% in 2002-2006, according to GE Capital. Low- and mid-income households will be particularly constrained by stagnant earnings despite improvements in employment status and the housing market as well as lower gas prices.
 
According to GE Capital, the key trends in retail include the following: