Business Intelligence (BI)

Lumber Liquidators has raised its full year 2013 outlook based on year-to-date results and current trends.

The company now expects net sales in the range of $994 million to $1 billion, up from a previous range of $985 million to $995 million, with the fourth quarter ranging from $252 million to $258 million.

Lumber Liquidators also expects to open a total of 29-30 new stores during 2013 and increase net store sales 15% to 16%, up from a previous range of 14% to 15%, with the fourth quarter ranging from 13% to 15%.

Catchpoint Systems, a Web performance and application monitoring tools developer, has unveiled a new Real User Measurement (RUM) tool called Glimpse.

According to the company, the measurement solution is designed to give companies a better understanding of the quality of their actual website user experiences to drive business success by offering a comprehensive view of end user experience, website performance and engagement.

Target has unveiled a section of its website that features products that are trending on hot social media site Pinterest.

The Target Awesome Shop is a shoppable catalog that features a curated crop of products from several lines, including beauty, each of which is among those most pinned on Pinterest in the last few days, but only if they have at least a four-star guest review.

New York -- Target is testing a section of its website that features products popular on Pinterest.

The Target Awesome Shop includes products from several lines, including beauty, each of which is among those most-pinned on Pinterest in the last few days. The products are mentioned only if they have at least a four-star guest review.

The website is currently in beta testing and was put together "in a matter of a few weeks" by Target's Rapid Accelerated Development team, a small group of digital experts working for the company.

New York -- Verizon Enterprise Solutions is launching a new managed, cloud-based Wi-Fi for business solution aimed at retail and food service environments. The solution is designed to be easy to deploy while enabling businesses to improve customer service, customer loyalty and business processes.

Nashville, Tenn. – Genesco’s net earnings fell 34% to $27.7 million, from $42.1 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 for Genesco. The company also reported a slight increase in net sales, to $666.3 million from $664.4 million, during the same period.

New York -- TXT Maple Lake, an international provider of integrated and collaborative planning solutions, is pleased to announce that Samsonite Company Stores, the U.S. retail division of Samsonite, is turning to TXT technology in a bid to optimize inventory through more effective merchandise planning.
 
Selling luggage, business cases and accessories under the Samsonite, Samsonite Black Label, and American Tourister brands, Samsonite Company Stores operates retail stores in 38 states across the U.S.  
 

Hampstead, Md. – Jos. A. Bank slightly increased its net income to $13.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 from $13.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The retailer also saw its net sales grow about 6% to $247.5 million, from $232.8 million.

Same-store sales declined 0.1%, although direct marketing sales increased 23.5% and combined same-store and online sales increased 2.4%. Jos. A. Bank incurred $1.2 million of legal and professional expenses in connection with the company's bid to acquire The Men's Wearhouse.

Coral Gables, Fla. -- The likelihood that shoppers will make a purchase online is directly related to the number of product options that are displayed and to how the product information is displayed, either visually or with text. Research from the University of Miami School of Business Administration found when larger assortments of products (i.e. many options) are displayed with images rather than text, shoppers are less likely to purchase a product.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Facebook is the lowest scoring brand in the overall ForeSee Customer Experience Index, with a score of 69. The index, a study that examines how today's customer experiences with the top 100 brands across seven industries as reported by Interbrand are predictive of companies' future business success, shows that while Amazon dominates retail industry at the brand level (87), Nordstrom (86), Coach (85), Costco (84) and Tiffany (84) are statistically within reach of the leader.