Data & Analytics

Rite Aid same-store sales up 4.3% in March
Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid’s positive momentum continued in March, with the drugstore chain reporting a 4.3% increase in March overall same-store sales.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 4.1% to $2.026 billion, compared to $1.947 billion for the same period last year. Prescription sales accounted for 69.9% of sales.
Paving industry veteran launches national paving business
Oak Brook, Ill. -- C.B. Kuzlik, a 20-year veteran of the paving industry, has founded Let’s Pave, which is focused on buyers of commercial and industrial pavement services and solutions nationwide. The company is different from other national service providers, according to Kuzlik, in that it treats paving services and pavement management as separate specialties — offering one or the other, but never both to the same client.

Lumber Liquidators Q1 sales top estimates

Toano, Va. – Despite bad publicity from a March 2015 “60 Minutes” report alleging carcinogenic materials in the laminate of some Chinese hardwood it sells, Lumber Liquidators beat Wall Street sales estimates in first quarter 2015. In a sales update, Lumber Liquidators said sales were $260 million, an increase of 6% from first quarter 2014.
Ikea expands solar power at Stoughton, Mass., store

Stoughton, Mass. -- Ikea has gone live with the expanded solar energy array atop its store that opened nine years ago in Stoughton, Massachusetts. The 51,516-sq.-ft. solar panel addition consists of a 318-kW system built with 1,248 panels, and will produce 385,900 kWh more of electricity annually for the store. It sits atop a 58,575-sq.-ft. store extension completed last summer.
Gordon Bros., AccuVal-LiquiTec form new appraisal group

Boston - Gordon Brothers Group’s Valuation & Advisory Services Division and AccuVal-LiquiTec have entered into a merger to form Gordon Brothers-AccuVal. The new group will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gordon Brothers Group.
Study: Retail top mobile advertising vertical

Baltimore - Retail was the largest vertical on the Millennial Media mobile advertising platform in 2014, followed by telecommunications and entertainment. According to the Millennial Media Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach and Targeting (S.M.A.R.T.) report, retail saw 49% year-over-year growth on the Millennial Media platform in 2014.
Talbots extends private label credit agreement with Alliance Date

Hingham, Mass. – Talbots Inc. has signed an extension to a long-term agreement to continue receiving private label credit card services from Alliance Data Systems Corp. Talbots operates nearly 500 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Staples pledges to end gender wage gap

Framingham, Mass. - Staples has signed onto “100% Talent: The Boston Women’s Compact,” an effort to end the gender-based wage gap and advance women in the workforce. Staples has pledged to work with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a public-private partnership to make Boston the best city in the country for working women.
Papa Murphy’s serves up mobile promotions

Vancouver, Wash. – Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. is running enhanced mobile marketing campaigns using the Waterfall cloud mobile messaging platform. Papa Murphy's in-store promotions, supplemented with text alerts and calls to action that offer coupons and other incentives, are driving more in-store sales and Web traffic.

Optimizing mobile campaigns at both national and franchise levels is an integral part of the company's technology strategy to meet customer needs
Liquidation leaders in merger deal

Liquidation leaders in merger deal Retailers looking to realize maximum value when they close stores or liquidated inventory have a new ally following the merger of two industry leaders.

Gordon Brothers Group and AccuVal-LiquiTec announced that Gordon Brothers Group’s Valuation & Advisory Services Division and AccuVal-LiquiTec have entered into a merger to form Gordon Brothers-AccuVal.

The newly formed group will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gordon Brothers Group, already one the world’s leading disposition and appraisal firms.
Gun sales a drag for Sportsman's Warehouse

Weaker-than-expected demand for guns led to a decrease in same store sales for Sportsman’s Warehouse in the fourth quarter.

The Midvale, Utah-based company’s same store sales declined 5.3% for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Hunting and shooting make up roughly half of Sportsman's Warehouse's sales.

The retailer had net income of $3.2 million, or 8 cents per share, compared to $7.4 million, or 22 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Income from operations dropped to $14.1 million in the latest quarter, versus $16.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Meijer to invest $50M in supercenters

Meijer has announced that it will invest nearly $50 million to remodel and expand four supercenters in Ohio, bucking a trend set by Walmart and other retailers of focusing on smaller stores<span style="color: rgb(54, 54, 54); font-family