Business Analytics

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. raised its earnings guidance for the recently completed business year, citing strong sales growth in the holiday season.

The retailer reported fourth quarter same-store sales of 3.7% and updated its fiscal 2014 diluted earnings per share guidance to $4.20 – $4.22.

“We are pleased with our fourth quarter sales as we saw our base business improve and our new strategic framework, the Greatness Agenda, take hold," said Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, CEO and president.

Spokane, Wash. -- Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company, has been selected by Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets to provide utility expense and data management solutions, as well as carbon management solutions and Energy Star benchmarking.

Kohl’s Corp. has increased its outlook for the recently completed business year, citing strong sales growth during the holiday season.

The company reported fourth-quarter same store sales growth of 3.7%. The company also updated its fiscal 2014 earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.20 to $4.22 per share. On average, 27 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $4.06 per share for fiscal 2014.

Costco’s same store sales flat-lined in January, disappointing many analysts who had expected a 1.2% increase.  

Rent-A-Center's Acceptance Now program has been a big hit with consumers, but the kiosks weren't enough to lift the company in the fourth quarter.   The company reported a 28% increase in same store sales at the Acceptance Now kiosks, which allow customers to pick out items from certain retailers partnering with RAC. Rent-A-Center will buy the item and lease it to the customer with no credit check needed.   

By Owen Shapiro

As every marketer knows, the era of Big Data is here, and with it comes a huge smorgasbord of opportunities to connect with customers in amazing new ways. For marketers and brand managers, the prospect of knowing more about customers’ lives, habits, and desires than ever before is understandably exciting.

While you are preparing to take maximum advantage of all the glorious opportunities Big Data offers, keep in mind that the devil in Big Data could be in these overlooked details:
 

Carle Place, N.Y. – The September 2014 closing of its acquisition of the Harry & David brand helped produce extremely strong performance during the second quarter of fiscal 2015 at 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. The retailer reported net income of $45.54 million, more than double the $17.99 million reported in the same quarter a year earlier.

Stanley Black & Decker and Newell Rubbermaid reported modest but steady growth in the fourth quarter, results that position both companies on solid ground going forward.

At Stanley Black and Decker, net sales for the fourth quarter came in at $2.98 billion, up from $2.88 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was mainly due to increases in volume and price, but partially offset by currency. In terms of net income, the company pulled in $145.8 million, up considerably from last year's $56.1 million.

San Jose, Calif. – Homeowners stuck shoveling out more than two feet of snow were not the only ones in the Northeast negatively impacted by winter storm Juno the week of Jan. 26. Analysis from RetailNext shows that between Monday, Jan. 26 and Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, store traffic at Northeast retailers dropped 35.6% from the same three-day period the prior year.

New day dawning at Tuesday Morning Tuesday Morning CEO Michael Rouleau declared the company’s turnaround complete after same store sales popped 7.6% and operating profits surged 32% during the second quarter ended Dec. 31.

The operator of 800 stores reported that the same store sales increase was as a result of a 7.7% increase in customer transactions, offset by a 0.1% decrease in average ticket. Sales at the 31 stores relocated during the past 12 months increased approximately 50% and contributed 140 basis points to the comparable store sales increase of 7.6%.