Business Analytics

Hangzhou, China –- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported net income of $494 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 39% from $803 million in the same quarter the prior year. Items including share-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets helped drive down net income.  

Sales continued to decline at Office Depot in the third quarter, but CEO Roland Smith said excellent execution allowed operating profits to more than double.

Total company sales on a pro-forma basis to reflect the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax declined 3% to $4.1 billion during the period ended Sept. 27. The top line decline was steeper at the company’s 1,851 unit North American retail division where sales declined 7% to $1.7 billion due to store closures and a 3% same store sales decline driven by a reduced transaction volume. 

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 360pi and JDA Software are partnering to optimize local pricing recommendations for retailers. This partnership integrates 360pi’s zone-based pricing intelligence for national and private label brands with JDA’s rules-based Strategic Pricing solution, part of JDA’s larger Price and Promotion Management portfolio.   

In the rapidly changing landscape for payments, market leader Vantiv is changing more rapidly than most as evidenced by dramatic growth in its transaction volume, revenues and profits.

Each of those measures surged during the company’s third quarter ended September 30. Thanks in large part to acquisitions, transaction volume in the merchant service group increased 31% which caused net revenue to increase 42% to $297.7 million. The company’s total revenue increased 31% to $697.1 million while adjusted net income increased 21% to $96.9 million, or 49 cents a share.

Seattle –- Starbucks Corp. topped off a generally successful fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 by swinging to net income of $587.9 million from net loss of $1.23 billion the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. The removal of a one-time arbitration charge of $2.8 billion helped bring Starbucks into the black.  

Petaluma, Calif. -– Revenue coming from smartphones grew 141% year-over-year during the third quarter of fiscal 2014. According to a study from e-commerce platform provider Market Live, cultural shifts in shopping habits are revealing changes in traditional metrics; for example, mobile is creating a trend toward lower conversion rates and shorter time-on-site metrics caused by more shoppers researching products on their mobile phones and completing their purchases at a later time.

Indianapolis –- Consumer electronics retailer Hhgregg Inc. swung from profit to loss in a generally difficult second quarter of fiscal 2014. Hhgregg reported a net loss of $10.38 million, compared to net income of $3.68 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year. Net sales dropped 11% to $505.86 million from $568.31 million. Same-store sales declined 11.4%. Growing expenses and declining gross profit helped push the chain into the red.

Hingham, Mass.-- Talbots Inc. will license APT’s software, including its Test & Learn and Market Basket Analyzer platforms, to test and analyze key business initiatives including promotions, merchandising, marketing and store operations. Talbots will use APT’s Test & Learn approach to identify which actions are most successful in improving performance and measure their impact on a test versus control basis.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners (SRS) has selected Esri as their provider of GIS mapping software and demographics tools. Brokers at SRS, as well as research consultants and other support staff, now have access to more than 50 reports which will allow them to run gap analyses, demographic reports, expenditure reports, and lifestyle segmentations.   

Milan, Italy –- Specialty eyewear retailer Luxottica Group S.P.A. reported increases in profit and revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income grew 10% to $259.2 million from $236.8 million in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year, while net sales rose 5% to $3.01 billion from $2.85 billion.