Data & Analytics

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters reported net income of $83 million for the fourth quarter ended January 31, 2013, up from $39.26 million in the year-ago period, on strong same-store sales and higher revenue.

Total company net sales for the quarter increased 17% to $857 million. Comparable retail segment net sales, which include comparable direct-to-consumer channel, increased 11% for the quarter, while comparable store net sales were flat.

Join Chain Store Age on Thursday, March 14, at 2 p.m. (Eastern) for a free Webinar, sponsored by Microsoft, on how to use digital signage solutions to improve customer engagement, improve brand awareness, target specific audiences, and quickly update messages — all while reducing costs and driving sales. Also, see best-practice examples of how retailers are leveraging digital signage for their competitive advantage.

The speaker, Jeff Collard, president of Omnivex Corp., is a leading authority on the use of digital signage in retail.

Chicago -- Vibes, a mobile marketing and technology company, announced the results of a successful mobile campaign aimed at engaging and increasing Build-A-Bear Workshop’s customer base through their mobile phones.
 

New York -- Network with peers from leading retail and restaurant companies at SPECS, the industry’s premier store development and facilities event.

Produced by Chain Store Age, the 49th annual SPECS conference will be held March 17-20, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas. 

Click here to register. 

New York -- Foot Locker Inc. on Friday said its fourth quarter profit rose to $104 million from $81 million a year earlier.

Sales jumped 14% to $1.71 billion, including the benefit of an extra week. Same-store sales rose 7.9%.

For fiscal year 2012, which included 53 weeks, the company reported net income of $397 million, compared to $278 million a year earlier.

Total sales increased 9.9% in 2012 to $6.182 million, compared with sales of $5.623 million last year. Same-store sales were up 9.4% in 2012.

New York -- Ann Inc., parent of Ann Taylor and Loft, said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit rose to a better-than-expected $2.37 million from $2.18 million a year earlier.

Sales rose 7.2% to $607.7 million. Total company store- sales for the quarter decreased 0.7%. By brand, same-store sales increased 1.4% across the Ann Taylor brand and fell 2.1% across the Loft brand.

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware, a leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, announced that Brooks Brothers launched a new e-commerce site on the Demandware Commerce platform.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp., Limited Brands and TJX Cos. on Thursday reported better-than-expected sales for February, as growing employment and a surging stock market apparently offset the impact of higher taxes. (Some analysts cautioned, however, that the monthly figures have become less influential as an economic indicator as the number of retailers reporting on a monthly basis has dropped considerable. As of this month, Target and Kohl’s are no longer reporting monthly sales.)