Data & Analytics

Bad weather for retail dampened sales at Lowe's, but earnings surged well into the double digits for the first quarter, the company announced Wednesday morning.

Lowe's sales increased 2.4% in the first quarter, rising to $13.4 billion. Comparable-store sales increased 0.9%.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retail giant reported a net earnings surge of 15.6% to $624 million for the quarter ended May 2.

Following disappointing results during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which were consistent with the company’s expectations, American Eagle Outfitters has decided to close 150 stores in North America during the next three years, including nearly 100 AE stores.

For 2014, the company plans on closing approximately 50 AE and 20 aerie stores in North America. The store closings will translate to annualized after-tax savings of between $10 and $15 million beginning in 2015.

Tiffany chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalsk said the company enjoyed “an excellent and encouraging start to the year.”

The company grew net earnings 50% in the first quarter. Net earnings increased 50% to $126 million, up from $84 million in the same period a year earlier, aided by the elimination of pre-tax charges relating to staff and occupancy reduction.

Worldwide net sales grew 13% to $1.01 billion, from $895.48 million. Worldwide same-store sales rose 11% due to growth in most regions.

New York – Macy’s Inc. is testing the effectiveness of mobile video ads on Facebook. On May 16, the retailer began running video ads using Facebook’s auto-play feature on the mobile newsfeed in its iPhone app.

The ads appear at the top of the newsfeed and start playing when the user scrolls down. If clicked, they become full-screen size and audio turns on. Users are allowed to like, share and/or comment on the ads.

Stockholm, Sweden - The Analysis Division of Tobii Technology is launching Tobii Glasses 2, a wearable eye-tracking research system in the world. Based on a new, proprietary, wearable eye-tracking platform from Tobii that will support research and consumer applications, Tobii Glasses 2 offers wireless live viewing.
Key new features of Tobii Glasses 2 include:

New York - Nearly a quarter of packages purchased online and tested during a six-month period did not meet the basics for adequate shipping. In a study spanning six months of data, conducted from October 2013 to March 2014, StellaService Analysts placed 2,855 orders with 125 leading online retailers to measure the quality of the shipping and returns experience.

Greenwich, Conn. – Merger and acquisition (M&A) dealflow in the retail mobile payment sector has risen 500% between 2009 and 2013, while investment dealflow has grown 300%. According to data from Mooreland Partners, a mid-market investment bank specializing in technology deals, there were 232 M&A deals in this sector from 2009-213, and 259 from 1999-2013.

San Francisco - Swift Communications, a multi-platform publisher based in Carson City, Nevada, is making a strategic investment in Engage3, a retail intelligence and digital marketing solution provider. The two companies are also working together to identify retailer and supplier partners in the markets Swift serves to drive additional consumer value.

The amount of the investment, which closed earlier this month and will be used to expand the features of Engage3’s solutions, was not released.

By Kellie Peterson, Director of Marketing at iinside

The supermarket business has never been more competitive than it is today. In any given geographic location, supermarkets compete with traditional rivals including local, regional, national and international stores, as well as farm shares, farmer’s markets, and specialty retailers. Big-box retailers are, of course, also getting into grocery, and then there’s the increasing threat of online retailers.

Atlanta – Severe weather dampened net income and sales growth at The Home Depot during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, causing increases in those figures to fall short of Wall Street estimates. Net income improved 17% to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion.