Data & Analytics

Dallas -- The 49th annual SPECS conference officially kicked off on Monday morning at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas with two kinds of inspiration: Greg Buzek, present of IHL Consulting Group, introduced the Retail Orphan Initiative, and U.S. Navy Seal Scott Taylor presented Afterburner Black Ops, challenging the audience of retailers in design, construction, facilities, store planning and development to use Seal techniques to run their organizations.

Charlotte, N.C. — Harris Teeter Together in Education (TIE) on Monday donated more than $385,000 to participating TIE schools during the second of three payouts of the 2012/2013 school year, raising the program total to $18.7 million since 1998.

By Krisha Brooks, VP engineering services, GMR

Whether the facility is a restaurant or retail storefront, owners and managers can agree sufficient lighting plays a key role in exterior facility safety. On a superficial level, lighting plays a significant role in presenting a warm and inviting storefront for customers. However, from a personnel, customer and branding standpoint, having adequate lighting in place that is regularly maintained, inspected and positioned makes an important difference towards alleviating safety and liability concerns.

Mergers and acquisitions transaction activity in the U.S. retail sector jumped 39% in 2012 for deals greater than $50 million, while total deal value more than doubled. These gains point to an industry undergoing major changes, one that is attracting considerable interest from a wide range of players.

Lynwood, Wash. -- Zumiez Inc. said Thursday its fiscal fourth quarter net income rose 22.1% to $22.9 million on improved sales.

Revenue for the quarter, ended Feb.2, (14 weeks) increased to $224.4 million from $183.9 million in the year-ago period (13 weeks). Same-store sales fell 1%.

Zumiez said it plans to open about 60 new stores in the current fiscal year, including up to 10 stores in Canada and six stores in Europe.

Savannah, Ga. -- Citi Trends reported Friday a fourth quarter loss of $704,000, narrowed from a $5.3 million loss in the same period last year.

Revenue slipped 2% to $175.7 million, meeting Wall Street forecasts. Same-store sales plummeted 11.8%.

Automated tools deliver on customer service and leverage operational efficiencies

Retailers are putting an increased emphasis and value on how and when they use their workforce. And in doing so, they are on the right path, according to research from The Wharton School. The study found the associate payroll was the most important factor in determining revenue. A mere additional dollar (properly applied) on labor could reap rewards of $4 to $28 in return.

Don Kingsborough, VP retail services, PayPal, San Jose, Calif.