Supply Chain & Merchandising

By Christopher Birkholm, project manager, SEO and site optimization, at Digital River  

Iowa – Casey’s General Stores Inc. will revise its financial statements for fiscal years 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, due to a $31.5 million error in how it accounted for excise tax on sales of ethanol fuel.  

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. exceeded Wall Street expectations for net income and sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income fell a less than expected 10% to $49.55 million from $54.96 million the same quarter a year earlier, with higher operating expenses and lower pretax income contributing to the decline. Sales totaled $670 million compared to $633 million and same-store sales rose 2.6%.

New York — J. Crew provided the best overall online customer service in October, marking the retailer’s third time topping the Stella Benchmarks rankings from StellaService in 2014. The retailer ranked 4th in phone, second in email, eighth in shipping and 17th in returns.
  Stella Benchmarks includes 138 companies evaluated on a daily basis by StellaService. Customer care channels, phone, email and chat, are measured daily, while fulfillment metrics are measured across multiple orders each month.
 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The merchandising organization at Walmart is being transformed again following the departure of executive VP and chief merchandising officer Duncan Mac Naughton. His departure, in turn, served as the linchpin for several other high level moves.  

Despite continuing to lose money, Books-A-Million announced higher same store sales for the third quarter.

Fort Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS Inc. reported a net loss of $28.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net income of $35.8 million in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year and below Wall Street predictions. Non-cash goodwill and trade name impairment charges drove Chico’s into the red.   Sales totaled $665.6 million, an increase of 1.5% compared to $655.6 million. Same-store sales dropped 1.6%.  

Wet Seal has hired an investment banker and a senior adviser to analyze potential financial alternatives for the struggling retailer.

The company said it has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey and former Tilly's Inc. executive William Langsdorf to aid in a strategic review. Wet Seal said it has not set a deadline for completion of the process and that “there can be no assurance that the exploration of the potential alternatives will result in a transaction.”