Business Analytics

Amsterdam -- Ahold reported Friday that sales for the fourth quarter rose 7.5% to $10.4 billion, boosted largely by its ability to keep U.S. stores open during Hurricane Sandy, said the company. Same-store sales advanced 2.8%.

Its U.S. business includes the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service. Ahold posted fourth quarter sales of $6.1 billion in the U.S., marking a 4.3% rise over the year-ago period.

For the full fiscal year, sales increased 8.5% to $43.6 billion.

New York -- Family Dollar on Friday increased its annual dividend by 24%. The annual payout now totals $1.04 following a decision by the retailer’s board to elevate the quarterly dividend to 26 cents a share from 21 cents a share.

In addition, the board authorized the repurchase of an additional $300 million in stock under an existing program that had only $94 million in authorization remaining.

New York -- Delhaize Group announced that it would close 33 under-performing Sweetbay stores in Florida by mid-February. The shutterings, which are part of a broader reorganization plan, amount to about one-third of the chain.

“While these decisions are difficult, especially given the impact on our associates, customers and communities, these actions will continue to enhance the performance of our overall store portfolio and further enable us to deliver profitable growth and accelerate shareholder value,” the company said in a statement.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma reported that its revenue increased 4.8% to $1.01 billion for the nine-week period ended Dec.30.The company also backed its fourth-quarter and full-year forecast.

Williams-Sonoma will discuss its performance in more detail in March when it releases its fourth quarter results.

Company president and CEO Laura Alber said the chain's performance reflected the strength of its brands even amid a time of consumer uncertainty and intense promotional activity across the retail industry.

New York -- A report released Wednesday by MasterCard revealed that Canadian retail sales, which grew just 1.6% in December, trailed the U.S., which also posted less than stellar results for the month.

Sales in the U.S. advanced 2.4% in December.

Canada’s results were particularly disappointing, considering the country’s December sales grew 4.3% in December 2011, according to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse report.

ATLANTA — National sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports has selected a business intelligence platform developed by QuantiSense, which will allow it to leverage retail analytics so it can improve local assortments across all physical stores.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. on Friday reported revenue of $12.8 billion for the nine weeks ended January 5, 2013, compared with $12.9 billion for the nine weeks ended December 31, 2011. Online revenue rose 10%.

Same-store sales were down 1.4%.  Domestic same-store sales were flat, but fell 6.4% internationally.

UL has more than doubled its product testing capability by relocating to a new 48,000-sq.-ft. facility in Enfield, CT.

The company, whose ubiquitous UL trademark appears on all manner of products, said the relocation will enable it to more efficiently meet the growing demand for the company’s analytical, physical, performance and compliance testing of consumer products for retailers and manufacturers doing business in the U.S.