Business Analytics

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. reported an unexpected decline in fiscal third-quarter profit Tuesday, as lower demand for televisions and videogames led to a sales shortfall in the United States. The chain cut its full-year forecast.

Best Buy Co. said that its third-quarter net income fell 4% to $217 million, while revenue fell 1% to $11.89 billion. Same-store sales fell 3.3%. Results missed Wall Street projections.

Best Buy said it has cut its full-year outlook, as it faces stepped-up competition from online and discount stores.

Reston, Va. - comScore reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 40 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season at more than $21.95 billion, up 12%  versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week (week ending Dec. 10) reached $5.15 billion in spending, an increase of 11% versus the corresponding week last year, as two individual days each surpassed $900 million.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Borders Group reported that sales for the third quarter were $470.9 million, which is a decrease of 17.6% from the same period a year ago. On a comparable-store sales basis, sales declined 12.6%, driven primarily by the adult trade category, according to the company. Sales were also negatively impacted by Borders.com, which saw a third quarter decrease of 8.6% over the prior year to $12.5 million.

MINNEAPOLIS - Supervalu named Sherry Smith EVP and CFO. Smith had been the company’s interim CFO. She immediately assumes her new role and will directly report to Craig Herkert, CEO and president.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos announced the December release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index, analyzing the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector.

The December report, which includes data for November 2010, showed that the Index increased significantly to 3.8%, a 28% increase over last month’s figure of 3.0%.  (A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred.)

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. said Friday it will close its A.J. Wright discount stores by mid-February, cutting 4,400 jobs. The move comes as the company’s T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains have become better at attracting the lower-income customers that A.J. Wright targeted.

Ninety-one A.J. Wright stores will be converted into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores, and 71 stores and two DC’s will close entirely. About 3,400 employees will keep their jobs and another 4,400 – half part-time and half full-time – will be cut.

El Segundo, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has announced a partnership with REC Solar, a leading solar electric system provider in the United States, to install roof-mount solar systems on nine stores in Arizona. The installation of the systems will begin in March 2011.

The combined 410 kW of installed solar systems will produce an estimated 620,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, the equivalent of reducing 22 million lbs. of CO2 emissions -- or removing 28 million car-driven miles -- over the next 25 years.

MINNEAPOLIS - Target announced its commitment to sustainability and outlined goals it hopes to achieve over the next five years. Target's commitments to environmental sustainability, along with more on Target's sustainability efforts, are available at hereforgood.target.com/environment, the company reported.