Data & Analytics

Seattle - Auburn University's new RFID Lab held its grand opening May 21, during which Amazon.com announced a joint project with the university to explore the business case for the implementation of RFID within the Amazon supply chain. Amazon has utilized RFID technology in its fulfillment centers, where customer orders are picked from shelves, moved on conveyers and loaded onto trucks for rapid shipping and delivery.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. plans to sell about 330 Family Dollar stores to obtain Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approval of its pending $8.5 billion acquisition of Family Dollar Stores.  

The company has not identified the buyer, the sale amount or which stores will be closed. The 330 Family Dollar stores represent about $45.5 million in operating income, according to Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree expects the Family Dollar purchase to go through in July 2015.

Nashville, Tenn. – Kirkland’s Inc. topped Wall Street predictions for earnings and sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income increased 23% to $2.53 million, from $2.05 million a year earlier.

Growth in cost of sales and operating expenses lagged the rate of revenue growth, boosting net income. Net sales rose 9% to $118.31 million, from $108.25 million. Same store sales, including e-commerce sales, grew 3%.

Minneapolis – Domestic demand for large-screen TVs and mobile phones helped Best Buy Co Inc. beat Wall Street projections for profits and sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. Net earnings fell 72% to $129 million from $461 million a year earlier, largely due to corporate restructuring charges.

San Francisco - Customers who choose live chat for customer service are satisfied a higher percentage of the time than those who call, email, or use social media channels. According to findings of the quarterly Zendesk Benchmark report, customers using live chat for customer service are satisfied 92% of the time.

The average benchmark for live chat across all geographies and industries is 62 chat conversations a month; first response time of one minute 36 seconds on average; and customer satisfaction of 92%.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $29.1 million, up from $3.9 million a year ago, amid higher sales and fewer promotions. It results beat Wall Street expectations.

The retailer posted better-than-expected revenue of $699.5 million for the quarter ended May 2, up 8% from $646.13 million a year ago.

Total same-store sales rose 7%.

MINNEAPOLIS —Target Corp. on Wednesday reported a larger-than-expected increase in first-quarter profit amid signs that its efforts to refocus and revamp its product lineup are taking hold. Target executives said they are “pleased” with its first quarter, particularly the performance of  its signature categories, as the retailer also posted a lift in sales and double-digit gains in its digital channel.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples Inc. reported a 39% decline in first-quarter profit amid declining sales and store closures. The results came as the chain is waiting for regulatory approval of its proposed takeover of rival Office Depot.

Staples reported a profit of $59 million, down from $96 million a year earlier.

Revenue slid 6.9% to $5.3 billion. Online sales grew 3%.

Same-store fell 5% in the quarter. Store traffic was down 2%, and the average order size fell 3%.