Data & Analytics

The holiday season started strong at Costco where U.S. same store sales advanced 7 percent during the company’s first quarter ended Nov. 23.

Total company sales during the period increased 7 percent to nearly $26.3 billion from $24.5 billion. Membership income grew slightly slower, advancing 6 percent to $582 million. Same stores sales excluding the effects of the strengthening U.S. dollar and fuel price deflation were 7 percent and U.S. and international locations.

Michaels is partnering with a new ad agency on a $180 million marketing plan as the arts and crafts retailer looks to weave a quilt of higher sales and market share.

Zimmerman Advertising will perform a range of key functions for Michaels, working with a total marketing budget of $180 million and focusing on strategic planning, analytics, digital media planning and buying and social media.

SC Johnson chief talks transparency SC Johnson CEO Fisk Johnson said his company wants to “lay it all out there” when it comes to transparency and greater disclosure in the consumer goods industry.

Speaking at the 2014 Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) annual meeting, Johnson discussed the critical need for the industry to build trust so families can feel comfortable with and believe in the products they bring home. He also said the industry should be clear and fact-based in environmental discussions, and advocate for better regulation.

Lands' End sales fell in its October quarter as its store base dwindled, though an improved merchandise assortment and a more-targeted promotional strategy helped drive a 26% increase in profits.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Lands' End posted a profit of $18 million, or 56 cents a share, up from a profit of $14.3 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue, meanwhile, fell 2.8% to $373.1 million as same-store sales fell 3.1%.

CANTON, Mass. - Dunkin’ Donuts is launching its own green building certification program, called DD Green, to help franchisees build sustainable, energy-efficient restaurants.    In conjunction with the announcement, the company is celebrating the grand opening of a DD Green certified Dunkin' Donuts restaurant in Long Beach, California. Dunkin' Donuts will work with franchisees and construction managers to build 100 new Dunkin' Donuts restaurants DD Green certified by the end of 2016.

NEW YORK - Overall U.S. retail sales (excluding auto) are expected to grow 3%-4% in 2015 although a variety of challenges will continue to constrain the performance of several retailers and retail segments, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.   A gradual increase in the U.S. employment rate and real wages along with near-term benefits from lower gas prices will support retail sales growth.  

New York - The Supreme Court handed out a victory to Amazon and other employers when it ruled unanimously on Tuesday that a temp agency was not required to pay workers at Amazon warehouses in Nevada for the time they spent waiting for and undergoing security checks at the end of their shifts.   The court reversed a lower court ruling from last year  which had allowed the workers to sue under the theory that since their screening time was required by the employer, it should be compensated.  

New York - Customer engagement is becoming an ever trickier proposition. Thanks to increasing connectivity and functionality of mobile and wearable devices, today’s consumers can enter an intensely personalized, stimulating and informationally rich virtual environment at a moment’s notice. Enticing them with omnichannel promotions is no easy task.  

If you’re like me, and you were curious about how Black Friday hype translated into retail sales, your head is spinning right about now. Because the flurry of post-Black Friday news reports is packed with conflicting information, data that doesn’t seem to add up, and—perhaps unsurprisingly given those disparities—wildly variant conclusions about whether the Black Friday weekend was a “success” or a “disappointment” and about what is in store for the rest of the holiday season.

Chicago - Nearly half of CFOs expect the U.S. economy to improve during the next six months and only 9% expect it to worsen, according to the Grant Thornton LLP 2014 Fall CFO Survey. The biannual survey reflects the insights of more than 1,000 CFOs and other senior financial executives across the United States.