Supply Chain & Merchandising

New York -- Retailers across the board, from Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters to Family Dollar Stores and Bed, Bath & Beyond, cut their fourth-quarter earnings forecasts on Thursday as heavy promotions and discounts cut into profits. Results were also impacted by multiple snowstorms, a shortened shopping season and cautious consumers.  

Costco’s sales increased by 6% in the month of December and the first few days of January compared with December 2012.

The Issaquah, Wash.-based company reported sales of $11.53 billion during the five weeks that ended Sunday, compared with $10.87 billion during the same period last year. Comps increased by 5% at the company's U.S. stores.

For the 18 weeks that ended Sunday, sales were $38.33 billion, a 6% increase over the $36.26 billion in sales the company had the year before. Comps in the United States increased by 4%.
 

Supervalu reported net earnings of $31 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2014, almost double the net earnings of $16 million reported in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. This dramatic increase came even as net sales slipped 1% to $4.1 billion from $4.5 billion.

You’ve got to hand it to Amazon.com. While consistently turning a profit has eluded Amazon for the past 18 years, the company has consistently taken a lead in disrupting retail. Whether it’s inventing e-commerce as a mainstream B2C transactional channel, taking a leading role in hosted cloud services with Amazon Web Services or helping to usher in the tablet era with Kindle e-readers, Amazon.com has never been afraid to do things in a way that alters how retail business is conducted.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar Stores on Thursday announced that president and COO Michael Bloom has left the company to pursue other interests. The company will conduct a search for a new president and COO. The news comes amid disappointing first quarter results for the company, which lowered its earnings expectations for the second quarter and full year. Family Dollar also announced it has promoted Jason Reiser to the position of executive VP - chief merchandising officer.

Pittsburgh – Total net revenue for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. decreased 2% to $882 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to $904 million for the same quarter a year earlier. Consolidated same-store sales decreased 7%, compared to a 5% increase for the comparable period in 2012.

Minneapolis – Supervalu reported net earnings of $31 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2014, almost double the net earnings of $16 million reported in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. This dramatic increase came even as net sales slipped 1% to $4.1 billion from $4.5 billion.

Women’s apparel retailer Cato has made its debut into the world of online shopping with the launch of its first ever e-commerce site. The announcement came as the retailer reported holiday sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 4.
 
Founded in 1946, Cato operates approximately 1,100 apparel and accessories specialty stores throughout the United States. With so many brick-and-mortar locations, the ability to supplement in-store inventory with an e-commerce strategy geared toward a new generation of connected shoppers became crucial for continued growth.