Data & Analytics

Ahold CEO Dick Boer cited competitive pressures in New England as a contributing factor in the company’s flat U.S. sales in the first quarter, but it’s not stopping the company from targeting online expansion.  

Ahold's U.S. operations posted first-quarter net sales of $8 billion, down 0.3%. Excluding fuel sales, overall sales were flat relative to the same period last year. Identical sales growth excluding gas was 0.1%, which included the positive impact this year of the post-Easter week falling into the second quarter.

Target has formed a digital advisory council as part of its efforts to accelerate its digital transformation. The company will look to the panel of technology industry leaders to help guide its omnichannel strategies.

The council includes experts with varied tech backgrounds, and includes Ajay Agarwal, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures; Amy Chang, CEO/co-founder of Accompani, former head of Google Analytics; Roger Liew, chief technology officer of Orbitz Worldwide; and Sam Yagan, CEO of the Match Group and CEO/founder of OkCupid.

Customers can now shop on Amazon for collectible U.S. coins from industry leading dealers including Stack’s Bowers Galleries, Kagin’s, David Lawrence Rare Coins and Liberty Coin — all from the newly launched Collectible Coins store.

Brown Shoe Company’s first quarter results exceeded expectations according to CEO, president and chair Diane Sullivan, and the company is raising its annual EPS guidance range as a result.

Spindle, a leading provider of mobile commerce solutions, has signed a strategic agreement with Moolah, an independent sales organization that serves thousands of merchants across the US.

Moolah will integrate Spindle's merchant aggregation and payment processing infrastructure into its e-commerce and mobile offerings, enabling Moolah to offer instant merchant onboarding, increase merchant approval rates and allow those customers to begin accepting credit card payments in approximately 10 minutes.

Women’s apparel retailer Chico’s FAS increased its store count by 99 units in the first quarter even as traffic declined and profits tumbled.

PetSmart has named Phil Bowman as EVP of customer experience, effective June 30. He will report directly to president and CEO David Lenhardt.

Bowman has extensive experience in brand building, digital marketing, e-commerce and customer data analytics, as well as the creation of an integrated customer experience. Most recently, he served as chief marketing officer at TD Ameritrade, one of the world’s largest online securities brokerage companies.

Memphis -- AuzoZone’s earnings rose a better-than-expected 7.4% to $285.2 million for the third quarter, up from $265.6 million in the year ago period, helped by demand for new parts.
 
Revenue rose 6.2%  to $2.34 billion. Domestic same store sales rose 4% in the quarter.

During the quarter, AutoZone opened 30 new stores in the United States and seven new locations in Mexico. As of May 10, the company had a total of 5,279 stores, including 4,901 domestically and 374 in Mexico.

New York -- Intuit has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Check, a mobile bill pay company with some 10 million registered users. The acquisition will help accelerate Intuit’s ability to offer bill pay across small business and personal finance products and create opportunities to retain, attract and serve additional customers.

Milan, Italy – Luxottica is rolling out the SAP Fashion Management application. The retailer is implementing the solution with the goal of bringing wholesale and retail operations onto a single, vertical platform sharing the same master data, global inventory and processes.