Business Analytics

New York - Online video viewers, compared to non-online video viewers, are more frequent patrons of quick-service restaurants (QSR). A new study from video marketing platform Videology shows that those who watch video were 60% more likely to visit QSRs after hearing about a promotion or seeing an advertisement, regardless of the medium.

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores LLC reported a widening net loss in an abbreviated 10-month fiscal 2014 which was shortened from the Saturday closest to the end of March to the Friday closest to the end of January. Net loss grew to $12.48 million from $8.9 million.

Total net sales were $1.53 billion, down 8% from $1.66 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.7%.

Bauer Performance Sports, a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance sports equipment and apparel, has completed the acquisition of the Easton Baseball/Softball business from Easton-Bell Sports.

Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, BPS acquired Easton Baseball/Softball for a total all-cash consideration valued at $330 million, plus a working capital adjustment and fees. BPS expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year of ownership.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners has signed John topping and Robert Drake to its Southeast Investment Sales Team.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM Corp. announced it will acquire digital marketing technology provider Silverpop. The Atlanta-based Silverpop allows marketers to target highly personalized offers and promotions. IBM said the technology will enhance its enterprise marketing capabilities.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Union, N.J. – Bed, Bath & Beyond met Wall Street expectations with falling net earnings during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Compared to the same period a year earlier, net earnings dropped 11% to $333.3 million, from $373.87 million.

Net sales fell 6% to $3.2 billion, from $3.4 billion. In one bright spot, same-store sales rose 1.7%. Bed, Bath & Beyond attributed some of its net earnings decline to disruptive weather in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity Corp. reported declining net and same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Net sales decreased 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 5.1%.

Destination Maternity said the decline in net sales resulted primarily from the decrease in comparable sales and decreased sales related to the company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores.

Boston – Email remarketing to online customers who visit e-commerce sites but do not make a purchase can significantly boost conversion and revenue rates for online retailers. According to a new report from the SeeWhy Conversion Academy analyzing 80 Demandware-based e-commerce sites, “The ROI of Email Remarketing for E-commerce and Brands,” on average, 97% of visitors to e-commerce sites don’t make a purchase.

Matthews, N.C. – Family Dollar Stores Inc. plans to close about 370 underperforming stores , cut jobs and lower prices on 1,000 basic items on the heels of a disappointing second quarter. The retailer is also slowing its new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to bolster its return on investment. It now anticipates opening 350 to 400 new stores as opposed to approximately 525 stores in 2014.
 

Pier 1 Imports president and CEO Alex W. Smith described fiscal 2014 as a transformational year for the company, emphasizing the company’s continued focus on its ‘1 Pier 1’ strategy, which has evolved its operating model from a broad portfolio of stores to a true omnichannel retail business.

But the company had a difficult fourth quarter marked what it described as an unusually high number of snowstorms, which impacted approximately two-thirds of its selling days in many of its key markets.