Data & Analytics

Reagan era appointee David Stockman is no fan of the current administration or the Federal Reserve’s long-running easy money policy and to make his case against the flawed strategy he singles out four of the biggest names in department store retailing.

Stockman is the Reagan era director of the Office of Management and Budget who became a Wall Street executive and now regularly opines on the troubled state of the economy and looming dangers caused by nearly eight years of zero interest rates he contends have produced all manner of distortions in the economy.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – JDA Software Group Inc. is launching new integrated fulfillment capabilities that combine the functionality of JDA intelligent fulfillment and labor productivity solutions with order management solutions from IBM Commerce. This technology collaboration is designed to let retailers process orders more intelligently and profitably across sales channels in real-time, to ensure customers have a positive end-to-end buying experience.

Veteran finance executive and former top Walmart executive Wan Ling Martello has joined the board of directors of Alibaba as the Chinese e-commerce giant eyes growth in the U.S.

Oak Brook, Ill. – Increased retail operating expenses, primarily related to store acquisitions and advertising, helped reduce profit at Ace Hardware Corp. during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income totaled $57.5 million, a 13% drop from $66.5 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Consolidated revenues fared better, rising 6% to $86.2 billion from $84.8 billion.

Lowe’s was hoping not to be outshined by Home Depot’s strong financial results, but hopes turned into missed opportunities Wednesday as Lowe's reported disappointing profit growth.

For the second quarter ended July 31, Lowe’s had earnings of $1.13 billion, up from $1.04 billion in the same quarter last year. On a diluted basis, earnings were $1.20 a share, 4 cents below analysts’ estimates. Home Depot reported a much higher profit on Tuesday.

Atlanta – A continuing recovery in the U.S. housing market helped The Home Depot Inc. exceed Wall Street projections for net income and sales during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income rose 9% to $2.23 billion, from $2.05 billion the prior-year period.

Dick's Sporting Goods says its focus on omnichannel retailing is yielding fruitful results, as the company reported an increase in profit and sales for the second quarter.

Dick’s reported net income of $90.8 million, or 77 cents per share, up from $69.5 million, or 57 cents per share, a year ago. That beat Wall Street’s average EPS estimate of 75 cents. Net sales were $1.8 billion, up 8% from $1.7 million during second-quarter 2014. Same-store sales for Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 1.5%.

Quincy, Ill. – In the latest sign that beacons are becoming a mainstream in-store technology, at least one independent grocery chain is rolling them out. County Market, a division of Quincy, Illinois-based Niemann Foods, has implemented the Birdzi platform in all of its stores to provide personalized digital savings and increased customer engagement for its shoppers.