Business Analytics

L Brands Inc. continues to surpass expectations as the parent company of Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret reported a bump in same store sales.

The company said net sales increased 3% to $1.207 billion for the five weeks ended July 4, compared to net sales of $1.176 billion for the five weeks ended July 5, 2014.  Same store store sales for the five weeks ended July 4, 2015, increased 3%.

Athens, Ga. -- Say hello to Snagshout, a new website that offers shoppers a discount in exchange for a review.

The site, which launched on Wednesday, offers deep discounts on a wide range of retail products for purchase, use and review. It connects shoppers looking for deals with merchants looking to gain traction with new items on Amazon.  

Ottawa, Canada – Home Depot is narrowing its price gap with Amazon.com, which typically offers the lowest overall prices on home improvement goods.

 According to a recent study from pricing analytics provider 360pi, “Building Up to Home Improvement Season,” Home Depot was the most aggressively priced home improvement “category killer,” with an average price of just more than 5% above Amazon, narrowing down to around 3% above Amazon by the end of the sampled period (May 1 – June 16, 2015).

Mooresville, N.C. – Lowe's Companies Inc. has promoted Tiffany L. Mason to senior VP of corporate finance and treasurer. Mason will continue to report to CFO Robert F. Hull Jr.

In her expanded role, Mason is taking on responsibility for financial planning and analysis, while she retains responsibility for the investor relations and treasury functions. Mason has nearly 20 years of experience in accounting and corporate finance across various industries, including technology, manufacturing, banking and retail.  

Lowe's says it is making an investment in its long-term financial strategy with its latest move on its finance team.

Dedham, Mass. - Reflexis Systems Inc. has successfully implemented its products in more than 20 retail, QSR (quick-service restaurant), and convenience store chains at the regional, national, and global level, across five continents during the first half of the 2015 calendar year. The solutions include Reflexis Task Manager, Reflexis Workforce Manager, ReflexisPlus, Advanced Analytics and Reporting, and Time and Attendance.

Seattle – Amazon.com is heading east with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosted cloud computing platform – all the way to India.

AWS will launch an “infrastructure region” in India in 2016, meaning customers there will have access to locally based hosted cloud services.

London - Accenture has completed its acquisition of Javelin Group, a retail strategy consulting and digital transformation services provider. The acquisition was first announced on May 18, 2015.

Javelin Group will be a distinct business unit within Accenture Strategy. Accenture will leverage Javelin’s specialist retail strategy and digital capabilities to help retailers accelerate digital transformation.

Toronto - Staples Canada has released its 2015 recycling objectives and first quarter update. Highlights include a plan to collect three million ink cartridges and 4,000,000 kg of electronics in 2015.

Staples Canada partners with Call2Recycle to collect and recycle batteries (rechargeable and alkaline) in every Staples store. In the first quarter, 37,111 kg of batteries were collected, an increase of 22.5% from the same quarter a year earlier. The retailer has set a goal of collecting 125,000 kg of batteries in 2015.

A new study by Staples shows that many Americans are burnt out and working more than ever thanks to the always on mentality of the connected economy. So why are we so happy?

New research from the Staple Advantage business-to-business division of Staples looked at the work behaviors of 2,602 employees in the U.S. and Canada to create the inaugural Workplace Index. The key takeaway is that more than half of employees report feeling overworked and burnt out (53%), but the overwhelming majority (86%) are still happy at work and motivated to rise in their organization.