Data & Analytics

Separating itself from Sears Holdings a year ago has not helped Land’s End financial footing judging from the company’s fourth quarter profit and same store sales decline.

Land’s End sales declined 4.9% to $504.6 million and net income declined 28% to $33.1 million in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30. Merchandise sales and services were negatively impacted by a $3.4 million product recall in the quarter that negatively impacted net income by $2.6 million.

Yet another study has documented retailers’ inability to keep pace with shoppers’ heightened expectations for a seamless experience driven by all manner of technological advancements.

Facebook is aiming to revolutionize the way customers communicate with retailers by re-inventing the customer service platform.

The tech giant is inviting retailers and other companies to develop software that allows customers to communicate instantly with them through Facebook Messenger. Facebook and its partner Zendesk, a customer service platform firm, are teaming up to allow businesses to provide scalable and responsive customer service to the more than 600 million people worldwide who use Messenger.

Teen and tween specialty retailer Five Below is accelerating store growth this year even though its relatively young store base mustered a modest 3.2% fourth quarter same store sales increase.

Five Below opened 62 new stores last year compared to 60 units the prior year to end the year with 366 locations in 21 states. The additional selling space and a 3.2% comp increase caused sales to increase 24.4% to $264 million from $212 million. Profits increased to $33.3 million compared to $24.8 million.

Minneapolis – Christopher & Banks Corp. on Tuesday swung to a profit of $32.2 million for the fourth quarter, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

Net sales totaled $98.0 million, as compared to $104.9 million for the year-ago period. During the quarter, the company operated an average of 7.0% fewer stores than during the comparable period last year, reflecting its store conversion program.

The retailer posted revenue of $98 million in the period.

By Todd Weller, Hexis Cyber Solutions

For retailers, it’s now no longer a matter of “if” you will be compromised by a cyberattack, but “when” you will be. But they can mitigate the impact of attacks now and in the future by preparing a response plan with policy-based automation.

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center  has expanded the capabilities of its Retail Information Sharing Analysis Center (Retail ISAC) with the establishment of an intelligence sharing portal managed by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC).

New York -- Toys “R” Us’ priorities for 2015 include advancing its mobile capabilities, improving its Babies “R” Us business and reducing costs in a drive to become more efficient, company executives said Tuesday during a media presentation in New York. The retailer will also continue to work on transforming its online and in-store customer experience, and debut two store prototypes this year, one for its namesake brand and the other for Babies, later this year.  

New York -- Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) on Tuesday posted a 36% jump in its first quarter profit, easily beating forecasts, and confirmed earlier reports that it plans to open 400 stores in its current fiscal year, with most of the locations in China and the United States. In New York, it will open a 61,000-sq.-ft. flagship — one of the largest H&Ms to date — in Manhattan’s Herald Square area.
   

Dusseldorf, Germany – Germany-based global retailer Metro Group has partnered with Frequentz, Inc., a provider of end-to-end visibility solutions, to build customer trust through supply chain transparency. Frequentz's track and trace system will provide Metro with the tools it needs to monitor pharmaceuticals, seafood and produce across stores in 31 countries.

Frequentz's system is not solely reliant on GS1 standards but adaptable to all companies regardless of standards deployed, simplifying international traceability.