Business Analytics

The search is on for a new president and COO at Family Dollar following the resignation of Michael Bloom amid deteriorating financial results and a 3% same store sales decline in December.

Costco’s sales increased by 6% in the month of December and the first few days of January compared with December 2012.

The Issaquah, Wash.-based company reported sales of $11.53 billion during the five weeks that ended Sunday, compared with $10.87 billion during the same period last year. Comps increased by 5% at the company's U.S. stores.

For the 18 weeks that ended Sunday, sales were $38.33 billion, a 6% increase over the $36.26 billion in sales the company had the year before. Comps in the United States increased by 4%.
 

Cincinnati -- Macy’s on Wednesday said that it plans to close five underperforming stores in early spring 2014 and cut 2,500 jobs in “organizational changes” to sustain its profitability. The cost-reduction initiatives are expected to save the retailer about $100 million annually, beginning in 2014.

Los Angeles — The retail availability rate fell 70 basis points in 2013, reaching 12% and reflecting continued net absorption gains, according to a report from CBRE. The rate fell 30 basis points in the fourth quarter, which matches the momentum of the first half of 2013 after a flat third quarter.

J.C. Penney provided an ambiguous update on its holiday season performance, indicating it showed continued progress in its turnaround efforts and was “pleased” with its performance.

The company released a brief and vague statement Wednesday morning in which it noted, “customers responded well to the company’s offerings this holiday season, both in stores and online.”

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing on Wednesday unveiled the ECRM Data website, ECRMData.com. ECRM Data is an industry solution that offers turnkey solutions for promotional tracking and analysis functions.

Soft sales at leading home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond led to a puny comp increase of 1.3%, lower than expected third quarter profits and a downward revision to fourth quarter expectations.

Target “expects more and pays less” for data centers

New York -- Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Barnes & Noble, Inc. breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders.

New York – Phone-based retail customer service can prove to be a time-consuming exercise. According to a new infographic from StellaService, during more than 54,000 customer service calls the company placed to retailers during 2013, a total of 17 days were spent on the phone navigating interactive voice response systems and 49 days were spent waiting for a live agent, more than double the 24 days spent waiting in 2012.