Supply Chain & Merchandising

Strong retail sales in the month of October point to a good holiday sales season ahead. According to the National Retail Federation, October retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 2.5% seasonally adjusted over September, and 4.2% unadjusted from 2012.

In a broader view, October retail sales released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, which include non-general merchandise categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations, and restaurants, increased 0.4% seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and 3.9% adjusted year-over-year.

Dallas — Jared, The Galleria of Jewelry, has signed leases for new locations in Lubbock, Corpus Christi and Midland, Texas, according to Venture Commercial Real Estate, which represented Jared in the transactions. All locations are under construction and expected to open soon.

Despite posting a larger-than-expected loss for its third quarter, J.C. Penney pointed to hopeful signs that its business is starting to stabilize as its heads into the holiday season.

Penney reported a loss of $489 million in the three months ended Nov.2, compared with a loss of $123 million in the year-ago period.

Sales fell 5.1% to $2.78 billion. Same-store sales were down 4.8%, but the period ended with its first monthly gain since December 2011. And online sales rose 24.5%, to $266 million.

Austin, Texas -- Retail Systems Research (RSR) today launched the RSR Omni-channel Maturity Survey, an online self-assessment tool that helps retailers determine where they are on the road to omni-channel maturity. Sponsored by Starmount, the survey enables retailers to understand the traits of today’s omni-channel leaders and the technology infrastructure that is required for omni-channel retailing.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney posted a bigger-than-expected loss for its third quarter. But the struggling retailer pointed to hopeful signs that its business is starting to stabilize as its heads into the holiday season.

Penney reported a loss of $489 million in the three months ended Nov.2, compared with a loss of $123 million in the year ago period.

Sales fell 5.1% to $2.78 billion. Same-store sales were down 4.8%, but the period ended with its first monthly gain since December 2011. And online sales rose 24.5%, to $266 million.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. is rolling out its “Reserve in Store” capabilities to all U.S. Banana Republic stores and more than 200 Gap stores in 15 major U.S. markets. The launch, which follows a successful pilot in San Francisco and Chicago-area Gap and Banana Republic stores, makes it easy for customers to shop online or with their mobile device, place items on hold and pick them up in local stores.

San Jose, Calif. -- Propelics, a provider of enterprise mobile strategy and mobile apps, today announced strong adoption for its solutions in the retail market. The company said it helping such retailers as Family Dollar, Payless ShoeSource, and Hallmark as improve the customer, store associate, and store operations experience though the implementation of a solid enterprise mobile strategy.

Best Buy warned that its margins may take a hit this quarter in what is shaping up to be an extremely competitive environment, following third quarter results. The company posted a net income of $54 million for the quarter amid tight cost controls, compared to a net loss of $10 million during the same period a year earlier.

The chain posted revenue of $9.36 billion, which was flat with last year and below analyst expectations of $9.37 billion.