Business Analytics

Who hasn’t prematurely hit the send button on an email? However, when it happened to a JCPenney executive who disclosed first quarter same store sales to an analyst, it begs the larger question of why the pair were even having a conversation about sales with two weeks left in the quarter.

Duluth, Ga. -- NCR Corporation announced that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) will replace 6,000 point-of-sale terminals with NCR RealPOS 72XRT systems. The new technology will replace non-NCR terminals in both its retail and food services locations, and will be maintained globally by NCR Services.

The Exchange provides quality goods and service at comparatively low prices to American armed forces families. It operates more than 3,100 facilities worldwide, in more than 30 countries, five U.S. territories and 50 states.

When retailers' customers aren’t happy, how do they really know? Many key metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), are born from accumulated survey results and don’t capture true happiness. Surveys focus on whether a customer is satisfied, which is very different from happieness. These are two very different things. So, the question becomes: Are companies really primed to measure customer happiness, or are they settling for a rationalized alternative created by linguistic gymnastics in a survey?

CNBC host and investment advisor Jim Cramer breaks down the impact of cheap oil and the labor outlook with a view toward which retailers are best positioned to win.

A recent feature on the Thestreet.com featured 18 of Cramer’s top picks in the retail world, including many familiar names which have already enjoyed a nice run and are trading at or near their 52 week high.

New York -- General Electric Company on Friday announced it will sell or spin off the majority of its $500 billion GE Capital finance business over the next two years as it looks to simplify and concentrate on its industrial roots. The company said it will keep its aircraft leasing operation and smaller lending lines.

GE said it has sold its real-estate assets, which include commercial loans and office buildings, for $26.5 billion, with  Wells Fargo & Co. and private equity firm Blackstone Group buying the bulk of it.

San Diego – Net income at PriceSmart Inc. fell 12% to $24.83 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2015, from $28.28 million in the same period a year earlier. Increased operating expenses helped cut profit even as revenues grew 10% to $750.3 million, from $674.38 million.

PriceSmart also attributed the drop in net income to the devaluation of the Colombian peso.

Surging sales at Old Navy helped Gap Inc. offset sales declines at its namesake division and its Banana Republic stores in March. 

Gap Inc. reported that net sales for the five-week period ended April 4 increased 1 percent to $1.53 billion compared with net sales of $1.51 billion for the five-week period ended April 5.

Chicago - Potbelly Corp. has named Michael Coyne as its new CFO, effective May 1. Coyne will oversee all financial functions and will also be charged with positively impacting Potbelly's analytical, productivity, and risk assessment capabilities.

An early Easter helped Stein Mart post an impressive 7.9% boost in same store sales for the first quarter.

Stein Mart reported sales of $244.4 million for the nine weeks ending April 4, a 10.6% increase over that period the year before. The sales growth was especially strong in March, according to the release.

The company reported $155.8 million in sales for the five weeks ending April 4, a 14.2% increase over that time the year before. Same store sales were up 11.2% for March. 

After reporting standout results for the holiday quarter, Costco had a drop in same store sales in March that the retailer blamed on the earlier-than-normal Easter holiday.