Business Intelligence (BI)

Columbia, S.C. -- Edens & Avant has announced the promotion of Carol Hall to VP portfolio management. In her new position, she will be responsible for creating value through the delivery of technology-enabled process and analytical tools to the investment management, property management and leasing teams.

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware announced that Boot Barn, the largest western wear retailer in the world, has relaunched its e-commerce site, BootBarn.com, on the Demandware Commerce platform. Launched in September, the site kicked into high gear with a large boost in online sales during the 2010 holiday season and has continued its strong momentum into 2011.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The nation’s largest automotive parts retailer announced another quarter of record results in which earnings per share advanced nearly 36% to $3.34 on same-store sales that grew 7.1% for the quarter ended Feb.12.

New York City -- The global PC-based point-of-sale market grew a solid 6.9% in 2010, according to new research from IHL Group, a global research and advisory firm.

Shipments grew in all four major worldwide regions (North America, Europe/Middle East Africa, Latin/South America, and Asia/Pacific). Strong double-digit growth in the Asia/Pacific region was driven by new shipments in China, India, Korea, and Indonesia, according to the research. 

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway reported Thursday net income of $229.6 million for the quarter ended Jan. 1, compared with a loss of $1.61 billion in the year-ago period, based on a hefty charge for the reduced value of its assets.

The grocery chain said revenue inched up 1% to $12.8 billion from $12.69 billion, topping Wall Street estimates of $12.45 billion.

NEW YORK — The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index reached 70.4 in February, a three-year high from February 2008, thanks to growing optimism about the short-term future.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp., a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, said Tuesday it has signed a new, long-term agreement to provide private label credit-card services to women’s apparel retailer J.Jill.

Cary, N.C. -- Business analytics software and service provider SAS announced Tuesday that it is acquiring Assetlink, a marketing resource management firm.

MONROE, Mich. -- La-Z-Boy reported that sales for the third quarter declined 4.3%, partly due to ongoing challenges related to housing and consumer confidence. Net income for the fiscal 2011 third quarter was 19 cents per share, which includes a 6-cent tax benefit, versus 21 cents per share in last year's third quarter.

The retail segment's sales increased 9.2%, and it experienced its eighth consecutive quarterly improvement of operating margin performance compared with the prior year, the company reported.

Walmart earlier this week named Cindy Davis EVP of a newly created global consumer insights business unit. She will be responsible for understanding broad consumer trends world wide and creating advanced analytical tools to support Walmart’s business, a sizeable task considering Walmart’s expanding global empire and the diversity of markets being served.