Supply Chain & Merchandising

New York – An increase in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses helped increase net loss at New York & Company Inc. to $9.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, up from $3.4 million a year earlier. Net sales declined 3% to $210.6 million from $217.3 million, and same-store sales dropped 3.4%.   New York & Company cited soft performance in its wear-to-work category and the impact of product delays resulting from West Coast port labor issues as negatively impacting sales. 

CROSSMARK, a leading provider of marketing and merchandising services, has appointed Steve Schuckenbrock as CEO.

CROSSMARK’s current CEO, Ben Fischer, will become the company's chairman and will play an integral role in the leadership transition. These leadership changes are effective immediately.

Schuckenbrock has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience at such high-performing, global companies such as Dell, EDS, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay and IBM. He also has deep knowledge in the areas of customer satisfaction/retention and innovation.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings Corp. reported a third quarter fiscal 2014 net loss of $548 million, up from the $534 million loss it reported in the year-ago period but smaller than its previously estimated. Cost-cutting measures helped Sears reduce its net loss growth. The discounter also revealed that  it plans to close a total of 235 underperforming stores in 2014, which is nearly double the projection of 130 it made in August.  Sears said eliminating those stores should boost EBITDA by $50 million.  

By Ken Morris, Boston Retail Partners

What a difference a year makes! We have seen a dramatic increase in the use of social media by merchandisers over the past year, as retailers look for innovative ways to enhance their merchandising decisions to deliver the products consumers want across a seamless shopping experience.

New Albany, Ohio – The cool kid might still be cool, after all. Abercrombie & Fitch reported net income of $18.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to a net loss of $15.6 million in the same period the prior year and beating Wall Street forecasts.

By Bruce Schanzer and Jennifer Bitterman

Despite revenue losses from the introduction of new generic drugs, Walgreens announced that same store sales grew 4.5% in November, with total sales, including stores open less than a year, also increasing 4.9% from last year.

The company posted November sales of $6.4 billion, an increase of 4.9% from the prior year. Same store sales across the pharmacy increased by 6.7% and front-end same-store sales were up 0.8%.