Business Analytics

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market reported that its net income rose a better-than-expected 5.8% to $128 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 28, 2014, from $121 million in the year-ago period.  The company also said it plans to open 38 to 42 stores, including five to six relocations, in fiscal 2015. 

Milwaukee –- Roundy’s Inc. swung to a net loss of $249.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from net income of $3.2 million the same quarter a year earlier. A variety of impairment charges, including charges related to closing a distribution center, taxes and disposal of obsolete assets, drove Roundy’s into the red, along with higher operating and administrative expenses.  

By Jason Ausburn and Karl Fruecht   You’ve acquired a new storefront. While doing your final walk-through, you notice an unlocked door that opens to a side alley. You can’t use the alley for storage. It doesn’t give your customers an additional entrance. It’s just an additional access point.   How are you going to secure it?  

IBM is forecasting a record holiday season heavily influenced by digital sales.  IBM research based on digital analytics predicts a total online sales increase of more than 15% over a 5-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.  

The biggest increase in online sales is expected on Cyber Monday with a predicted 15.8% increase over the last year, followed closely by Thanksgiving with an increase of 15.6%

Deerfield, Ill. -– Same-store sales at Walgreen Co. grew 5.6% in October. Total sales were $6.8 billion, an increase of 6.9% from $6.36 billion for the same month in fiscal 2014.   Total front-end sales increased 2.7% in October compared with the same month in fiscal 2014, while same-store front-end sales increased 2%.   

New York -- Consumer confidence in the North America region improved four points to 107 on the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index for the third quarter of 2014. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively, with the latest results reflecting an outlook of cautious optimism.  

Clearwater, Fla. - Net income at MarineMax Inc. fell 2% to $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 from $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. Damages received in connection to the 2010 Deepwater oil spill during the fourth quarter of 2013 helped produce a year-over-year decline in MarineMax’s net income.   Revenue grew 10% to $164.1 million from $149.7 million. Same-store sales increased approximately 10%.   

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.