Data & Analytics

Irvine, Calif. — Home automation product retailer Smarthome has deployed the 360pi 360price solution, providing the retailer with pricing intelligence for 3,000 SKUs in near real-time. Smarthome had built an in-house solution to compete with the SKUs carried by the large online pure-plays, but these SKUs only accounted for a fraction of its revenues.

More importantly, Smarthome needed a reliable solution to address its direct competitive set, those retailers focused expressly on the home automation market.

The weather posed a significant challenge for Fred’s in January. According to CEO Bruce A. Efird, Mother Nature not only disrupted consumer shopping patterns, but also resulted in more than 120 store closings during the final week of the month.

“Prior to the last week of January, sales were running in the mid-range of our forecast, with reconfiguration departments leading the way,” Efird explained.

Fred's total sales for January were $134.8 million compared with $173.5 million for the five-week year-earlier period.

New Albany, Ohio – Abercrombie & Fitch is using a consumer-driven predictive analytics solution from First Insight Inc. to help the retailer make faster and more accurate design, buying and pricing decisions, thereby reducing markdowns and mitigating risks associated with new product introductions.

Despite severe weather that caused a 0.7% decrease in January sales, Stein Mart looks like it will report its seventh consecutive quarter of comparable-store sales increases when it closes the fourth quarter.

January sales were fueled by strong sales in linens, ladies' boutique and gifts, while jewelry, ladies' sportswear and men's performed lower than the chain. Geographically, January sales were strongest in Florida and the West, while most other areas experienced comparable sales declines due to winter storms combined with record cold weather.

Minneapolis – The hackers responsible for the recent Target data breach reportedly gained initial access to the retailer’s network using credentials stolen from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) vendor. According to the New York Times, the hackers, using the vendor’s access, were able to break into Target’s network and from there were able to compromise a server storing the personal data of 70 million customers, as well as in-store POS systems that allowed access to 40 million credit and debit card numbers.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins, reported an impressive set of year-over-year financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. During the quarter, net income grew 23% to $42.1 million from $34.2 million, and revenue increased 13% from $161.7 million to $183.2 million.

U.S. same-store sales for the quarter increased 3.5% at Dunkin’ Donuts and 2.2% at Baskin Robbins.

Fairway Group Holdings' Herbert Ruetsch plans to retire after 15 years with the company, including the last two years as its CEO. Ruetsch will remain a special adviser to the company and continue to provide input into certain merchandising and product initiatives.