Data & Analytics

Old Navy is turning to Yahoo and Tumblr with a new digital campaign directed at Millennials.

The campaign will highlight Old Navy’s newest apparel this spring, and feature tips from the brand’s style ambassadors, Emily Current and Meritt Elliott.

Philadelphia – Net income fell at Urban Outfitters Inc. during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, but still beat Wall Street expectations.

Urban Outfitters reported net income of $80.3 million, down 9% from $88.68 million the same quarter a year earlier.  Lower initial merchandise markups, increased markdowns and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses all contributed to the decline.

Framingham, Mass. - The majority of small business leaders (87%) are optimistic about the year ahead. According to a recent Staples small business survey conducted online by Research Now, leaders are focused on results, with the top three small business goals in 2015 consisting of increasing revenue (76%), driving profits (70%) and gaining more customers (70%).

Promotional marketing (46%), better organization (38%) and software technology upgrades (35%) are the top tactics small businesses plan to use to meet these goals.

Neiman Marcus got a boost in the second quarter from its October purchase of mytheresa.com, a German luxury e-retailer.

For the 13 weeks ended Jan. 31, the company reported a profit of $27.8 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $84 million. Revenue grew to $1.52 billion from $1.43 billion in the prior-year period. Sales at stores open more than a year and online rose 5.6%.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group swung to a profit in the second quarter, helped by a 15% increase in online sales and its acquisition of Germany luxury online retailer MyTheresa.

The upscale retailer reported a profit of $27.8 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with a loss of $84.0 million in the year-ago period. (Neiman’s loss last year was partially credited to expenses related to

Revenue grew to $1.52 billion from $1.43 billion in the prior-year period. Same-store sales and online sales rose 5.6%.

Faced with dwindling expansion opportunities for traditional department stores, Macy is looking to significantly grow standalone beauty stores following its recently completed acquisition of the 60 unit specialty beauty retailer Bluemercury.

Las Vegas – Zappos is making Apple Touch ID available to its mobile customers. The latest update of the Zappos iOS app adds the option to log in with Touch ID.

Touch ID eliminates the need for password login.

With a single touch, customers using iPhones and iPads are logged in and ready to check out. Apple first introduced Touch ID in September 2013.
 

Ankeny, Iowa – Casey’s General Stores Inc. beat Wall Street estimates with net income of $39.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, more than triple $12.65 million earned in the year-ago period. Steady decline in wholesale fuel costs and rising inside sales helped Casey’s achieve impressive profit growth.

Casey’s currently has 26 new and 11 replacement stores under construction. The retailer’s annual goal is to build or acquire 72 to 108 stores and replace 25 existing stores.