Business Analytics

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores has been recognized with a 2012 Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is the company’s sixth consecutive year receiving a Green Power Leadership Award.

Kohl’s purchased 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power in 2012 and generates more than 28 million kWh through its solar program, offsetting more than 100% of the company’s electricity use for the third consecutive year.

Chicago -- ShopperTrak announced the beta release of a new interior counting system for retailers in North America and the United Kingdom. The system builds on the company's existing Managed Service people counting solution by adding wireless location technology from WirelessWERXT.

UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath and Beyond's earnings per diluted share for its second quarter rose 5.4% from 98 cents ($224.3 million) from 93 cents ($229.4 million) last year.

The company reported net sales of approximately $2.6 billion, an increase of approximately 12.1% from net sales of approximately $2.3 billion reported in the fiscal second quarter of 2011.  Comparable-store sales in the fiscal second quarter of 2012 increased by approximately 3.5%, compared with an increase of approximately 5.6% in last year's fiscal second quarter.  

Camp Hill, Pa. — Rite Aid narrowed its second-quarter loss to $41.4 million in the second quarter from a $94.7 million loss in the year-ago period.

Revenue slipped to $6.23 billion from $6.27 billion last year, missing Wall Street’s projected $6.25 billion in sales. Same-store sales were essentially flat for the quarter.

Richmond, Va. -- An annual seasonal hiring survey released Thursday by Snagajob indicates that more holiday jobs will be available this year than have been expected in any previous season in the study’s five-year history.  


The survey of more than 1,000 hourly hiring managers with responsibility for seasonal hiring, conducted by IPSOS Public Affairs for Snagajob, included the following highlights:

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 25 dipped 2.2% to $224.3 million, from $229.4 million in the same period last year. Results, negatively impacted by aggressive coupon discounting, trailed Wall Street’s expectations.

Sales increased 12.1% to $2.593 billion, and same-store sales climbed 3.5%, compared with an increase of 5.6% last year.

The retailer acquired Cost Plus in July for $495 million, adding 259 stores and a new e-commerce platform.

Total home improvement dollars increased by 7% when comparing the 12 months ended July 2012 with the previous 12 months, according to consumer research from The NPD Group.

The units of home improvement items sold grew less than 2%, according to the Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm.

Much of the unit growth in the home improvement industry was driven by hand tools, the second largest segment based on unit sales after storage and organization. Hand tools saw an 8% increase in units between August 2011 and July 2012.

By Dr. Gary Edwards, [email protected]

Localization is the name of the game in multi-unit retail. Large retail chains offer consistency, scale and other benefits, but if the brand fails to deliver exceptional experiences to local consumers, it’s unlikely that the retailer will gain any real traction in today’s highly competitive retail marketplace.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to hire more than 52,700 associates this holiday season, about a 10% increase over last year’s holiday hiring numbers.

Kohl’s said it anticipates hiring an average of 41 associates per store, a 4% increase over 2011, as well as 5,700 seasonal DC positions and more than 30 seasonal credit operations positions.

Hiring began this month, and most jobs will be filled by mid-November, said the retailer.

Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores said Tuesday it has leased 40 new compressed natural gas powered tractors from Ryder, which will replace diesel burning units with cleaner CNG rigs.

The move is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of the fleet and its CO2 emissions by up to 25%, said Eric Schiffer, CEO.  

The new CNG trucks will operate exclusively in the Southern California market, making store deliveries and picking up goods from vendors.