Supply Chain & Merchandising

LOS ANGELES — Sport Chalet, a sporting goods chain operating mostly on the west coast, has expanded its online assortment.

Sport Chalet customers now have the opportunity to buy expanded offerings of bikes, fitness equipment, and snow sports apparel and hardgoods online at www.sportchalet.com and have their order seamlessly fulfilled by the vendor. The company expects to continue to grow the assortment of vendors and product categories using this new drop ship functionality.

Austin, Texas -- Schlotzsky's has signed the brand's largest franchise agreement in more than 40 years, entering into a partnership that calls for more than 170 Schlotzsky's locations throughout California. The company, which currently has more than 350 locations worldwide, plans to have upwards of 700 locations by 2016.
   
Each of the new restaurants will feature a new, contemporary design and an upgraded service model in which crew members hand-deliver food to the tables.

Sixty percent of retailers with at least two years of negative comps turn them positive.

Here’s how. 

Two years of deep same-store sales declines can easily feel like a death sentence for most retailers. However, the data suggests it is indeed far from that. 

We analyzed all specialty retailers with sufficient public data over the last 20 years—nearly 70 retailers—and found that the majority of retailers who substantially underperformed the market ended up turning their comps positive in relatively short order. 

A Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Springfield, Mo., was ground zero Thursday as the retailer showcased efforts to make food healthier and more affordable to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Three years ago, the First Lady created the Let’s Move healthy food initiative and the following year Walmart unveiled five broad commitments that aligned with her vision for ending childhood obesity within a generation.

Specialty apparel retailer Chico’s reported strong fourth quarter results and announced plans to debut a new format and enter Canada in 2013.

The company said sales for the 14 week fourth quarter ended February 2, increased 14.5% to $652 million thanks to the inclusion of an extra week in the reporting period, a 3.7% same store sales increase and a net increase of 101 new stores that expanded selling space by 8.1%. The 3.7% comp increase is noteworthy because it came on top of an 8.7% comp increase during the fourth quarter the prior year.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands Inc. said that its fourth quarter net income in the 14-week period through Feb. 2, 2013, rose a better-than expected 14% to $411.4 million. That compares to a 13-week period that ended on Jan. 28, 2012, in which net income came to $359.4 million. The chain also forecast profit for the current quarter and fiscal year below analysts' expectations.
 

Fourth quarter operating profits at Sear’s Holdings on an adjusted basis improved. 22% and same store sales at Sears flagship stores turned modestly positive.

New York -- Barnes & Noble reported on Thursday a loss in the fiscal third quarter, hurt by a 26% decline in revenue for its Nook e-book readers.
 
The company posted a loss of $6.1 million quarter through Jan. 26, compared to a profit of $52 million in the year-ago period. The retailer blamed the loss partially on charges stemming from weaker-than-expected sales of Nook e-readers during the holiday shopping season.
   
Revenue fell 9% to $2.22 billion. Analysts had predicted sales of $2.4 billion.