Business Analytics

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys "R" Us reported a loss of $111 million for the first quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $60 million. It was the struggling chain’s worst quarter in a decade.

Net sales for the quarter, ended May 4, declined 7.8% to $2.4 billion. Same-store sales were down 8.4% domestically and fell 5.8% internationally.

Glenview, Ill. -- Eco Gym will open an 8,300-sq.-ft. solar- and human-powered health club at Glenbrook Market Place in Glenview, Ill., a North Shore suburb of Chicago, according to Mid-America Asset Management Inc., the landlord’s representative.

The fitness center, Eco Gym’s second, will use a combination of human kinetic power and solar power to generate electricity for its equipment. As members use the equipment, they generate more power to the central power grid, which lowers monthly dues.

Overall economic growth in Europe is slower than in the U.S., but the opposite is true when it comes to e-commerce sales, according to figures published by Internet Retailer.
 
U.S. e-commerce sales grew 15.9% to $225.54 billion in 2012 from $194.61 billion the prior year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce while the Centre for Retail Research in the U.K. said European e-commerce sales increased 16.6% to $302.2 billion from 260.4 billion.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in May 2012 vs. May 2013 and noticed some common overall trends across top retail chains. While looking at the data in May 2012 compared to May 2013, we see interesting changes that came from Toys "R" Us. Their circular suggests a switch in advertising strategy. Their ad blocks per page decreased 10% while ad blocks per circular increased 79.1%. Also, the total number of circular pages increased by 44.4%.

Philadelphia -- Five Below Inc. reported Wednesday a profit of $1.6 million, compared with a loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period.

The discount retailer saw sales during the quarter rise 33% to $95.6 million from $71.8 million, meeting internal expectations but beating Wall Street’s forecasted $93.9 million in revenue. Same-store sales advanced 4.2%.

According to president and CEO Thomas Vellios, Five Below will open another 60 stores by the end of 2013.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the Commerce Dept. said that retail sales in the U.S. gained 0.6% in May, more than forecast and likely boosted by increased hiring during the month.

The increase was the largest in three months and followed a 0.1% advance in April. Bloomberg economists called for a 0.4% increase. The figures used to calculate economic growth, which exclude categories such as automobiles, climbed 0.3%.

Yonkers, N.Y. – American consumers are reporting significantly fewer financial troubles than any time in the past three years, according to the Consumer Reports Index. The Index’s trouble tracker index, which measures the proportion of consumers that have faced difficulties as well as the number of negative financial events they have encountered, dropped from 41.7 in April to 34 in May. This is the lowest trouble tracker score since Consumer Reports began reporting it in April 2009 and more than 50% below its all-time high score of 68.7 in September 2009.

Largo, Fla. – Track Daily Deal, an online service for deal site shoppers, is launching new deal analysis reports. The reports evaluate daily deal sites on criteria such as how a site ranks against competing sites, how often and when it adds deals, how much consumers usually save and number of visitors.

New York – Initial Bloomberg estimates indicate US retail sales edged up 0.4% last month, with growth in the job market spurring increased consumer willingness to spend money. The projected increase is the largest in three months and follows smaller increases of 0.1% in April.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — B&G Foods has acquired Robert’s American Gourmet Food, doing business as Pirate Brands — an all-natural snack foods category — from VMG Partners, Driven Capital Management, founder Robert Ehrlich and other entities and individuals.

B&G will pay approximately $195 million in cash.