Business Analytics

Chemsford, Mass. -- Fewer people applied for jobs in the retail sector in June, according to the July Kronos Retail Labor Index.  The July report includes data for June 2011.

The number of applications received by retailers in the Kronos sample fell sharply in June 2011, to just 900,164 from a revised 1,149,879 in May, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was the lowest number of applications received since November 2007 and nearly 17%  below its level one year ago. 

COMMERCE, Calif. — 99 Cents Only Stores reported total sales of $368.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ended July 2.  This represents an increase of 6.3% over total sales of $346.5 million for the same quarter last year.  

DALLAS — Tuesday Morning  reported fourth-quarter net sales of $194.8 million, a decrease of 3% from last year's fourth-quarter net sales of $200.8 million. Comparable-store sales for the quarter decreased by 4.5%, which was comprised of a 5.4% decrease in traffic and a 0.9% increase in ticket.

Major retailers collectively dialed back the number of ads inserts and the number of pages in June when compared to the prior year, according to Market Track. The company each month provides RetailingToday.com with an exclusive look at the promotional activity among 16 of the nation’s leading retailers and the interesting statistic that stands out it June is a huge increase in the number of ad pages that hit the market. Click here for a review of promotional activity.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Wednesday that revenue for the quarter ended June 30 declined 3% to $194.8 million, compared with $200.8 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales dropped 4.5% in the quarter.

The closeout retailer cut its guidance for the year.

For the full year, revenue dipped almost 1% to $821.3 million. Same-store sales fell 1.2%.
 

Retail site selection is not just a matter of available real estate. It’s an analytical challenge that requires sophisticated statistical modeling and a thorough understanding of the market potential of a location. Devon Wolfe, managing director of Americas Strategy & Analytics, Troy, N.Y.- based Pitney Bowes Business Insight, discusses the Top 10 most common mistakes that seem to repeatedly plague businesses and hinder their success:

1. Assuming you can build a model for all situations

Cincinnati -- Bartell Drugs has selected KSS Retail, a global supplier of price modeling, optimization, and customer insight solutions for the retail industry, as its provider for price modeling and optimization.

“We chose KSS Retail because we know Price Optimization will allow us to better understand what’s important to our shoppers, which will help us deliver the value they’ve come to expect.” said Ron Miller, senior VP merchandising at Bartell Drugs, which operates 58 stores in Washington State.

NEW YORK – Department-store retailers turned out solid sales results in June, despite concerns about consumers cutting back on spending.

Macy’s Inc. reported that its total sales for the fiscal month of June increased 7.5% to $2.392 billion from $2.226 billion last year. The retailer reported a same-store sales increase of 6.7% for the month. 

ISSAQUAH, Wash. and WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Costco and BJ’s reported some impressive same-store sales for June, but peel the onion back a bit and the numbers are not quite as stellar as they seem. Sam’s Club does not report monthly sales.

Costco and BJ’s reported impressive same-store sales for June, and that’s good news for Sam’s Club. Given the strong correlation in performance between Sam’s and its direct competitors it is reasonable to assume Sam’s is on track to easily attain its second quarter same-store sales guidance, which calls for an increase in the range of 3% to 5%. Sam’s posted a first-quarter comp increase of 4.2% but doesn’t provide monthly updates.