Business Analytics

Dollar Tree will eliminate some 370 positions as part of a corporate restructuring related to its acquisition of Family Dollar last year.   The cuts, which include 100 vacant positions at its Family Dollar store support center in Matthews, North Carolina, are part of the chain’s ongoing efforts to integrate its support functions through a shared services model.  

HSN’s CFO and COO is taking a new job, but she won’t have to travel far.   Judy Schmeling has assumed the helm of the Cornerstone Brands division of HSN, which consists of home and apparel banners such as Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and TravelSmith.    Schmeling, who will continue to report to HSN CEO Mindy Grossman, will maintain her COO position at HSN, and she will remain CFO until a successor is appointed.  

The Cato Corp. reported sales of $61.2 million for the four weeks ended July 30, down 8% from the same period a year ago.     Same-store sales for the month were down 10% from the prior year.   On a quarterly basis, Cato sales for the second quarter fell 5% to $236.7 million, compared to $249.2 million a year ago. Second quarter same-store sales were down 6% from the prior year.  

Fred's Inc. saw July sales drop 7% to $154 million, compared to $165.6 million in the same period last year.    Comparable store sales for the month declined 4.6%, compared with an increase of 0.7% in the year-earlier period.   Fred's total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 decreased 3.4% to $527.7 million, from $546.1 million for the same period last year. On a comparable store basis, second quarter sales decreased 2% versus an increase of 0.9% for the year-earlier period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $37.2 million, which topped Wall Street expectations.    The natural and organic food retailer posted revenue of $1.03 billion in the period, narrowly missing Street forecasts of $1.04 billion, but topping last year’s sales by 14%.   Same-store sales grew 4.1% in the period.

Costco's comparable sales for the month of July declined 2%, with a 3% decrease in U.S. a 3% rise in Canada and other decreases internationally.  

Publix’s sales for second quarter 2016 were $8.1 billion, a 2.1% increase from last year’s $8 billion. Comparable-store sales for second quarter 2016 increased 1.1%.    The company says sales were negatively impacted by 1.2% due to the effect of the Easter holiday being in the first quarter in 2016. In 2015, the effect of the Easter holiday was in the second quarter.  

Expressing a desire to deliver more professional services and back-end support to its wholesale customers, Supervalu announced that it would install Oracle Cloud as its new technology platform.   "The Oracle Cloud provides us with a more robust infrastructure and a comprehensive solution that we believe will help us drive increased efficiencies, speed decision-making, and enhance the overall customer experience,” said executive VP and CIO Randy Burdick.  

BJ’s Wholesale Club has selected CommerceHub’s unified platform to bolster its online assortment, fulfillment and delivery.    “We’re committed to delivering uncompromising value to our Members, and CommerceHub is a strong partner,” said Jackie Cunningham, VP of e-commerce at BJ’s Wholesale Club, which operates 213 stores in 15 states.   

Joining the ranks of progressive burger chains that are jumping on the experience bandwagon, Wendy’s has engaged Service Management Group to measure the customer experience in all of its North America and international restaurants.