Data & Analytics

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. have offered to pay about $4,000 to one assistant manager for failing to pay proper overtime wages from May 16, 2010 to present, in connection with a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of New York. Abercrombie agreed to pay the assistant manager's attorney's fees and court costs to be determined by the court.

Duluth, Ga. - NCR has released the NCR Silver subscription-based iPad POS solution aimed at helping small businesses create, run and manage reward programs. Loyalty complements the existing automated email and social marketing functionality in NCR Silver, making it even easier for cafés, shops, restaurants, boutiques, food trucks, and any small business to reward customers for repeat purchases.

Issaquah, Wash. – Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a bigger-than-expected 15% drop in net income for the second quarter amid deep-discounting during the holidays. Net income in the quarter ended Feb. 16 fell to $463 million from $547 million.   
 
Costco blamed the lower earnings on several factors, including weaker sales of certain nonfoods merchandise categories and lower international profits. The year-ago period was also helped by a tax benefit.
 

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples on Thursday said it will close 225 stores by the end of 2015 amid falling fourth-quarter revenue, increased competition, and a shift to online sales. The big-box office-supply category, which was battered by the recession, has come under increased competition from Walmart and other discounters and online retailers such as Amazon. Most recently, Staples’ rivals Office Depot and OfficeMax completed a $1.2 billion merger.

New York -- A new white paper from Austin, Texas-based Accruent offers retailers insights into key project management challenges.

Called “The Business Case for an Automated Project Management Solution,” the paper discusses ways to maximize store profitability by reducing the time and cost required to open new locations. It also summarizes research findings that support automating project management toward portfolio-wide visibility and maximum real estate asset value.

In the sales versus margins battle at Costco, sales got the upper hand during the holiday season and the company’s second quarter ended Feb. 16.

Ongoing weakness at Staples' North American retail division has resulted in the planned closure of 225 units as part of a larger expense savings program and increased emphasis on digital initiatives.

The store closure announcement, part of a larger plan expected to save $500 million by the end of 2015, was announced in conjunction with the release of fourth-quarter results and new insights regarding the company’s online business.

Bad weather and a reduction in food stamps didn’t seem to have an effect on Kroger during the fourth quarter as the retailer posted a 4.3% increase in identical-store sales, meaningful profit improvement and offered an optimistic outlook for the year ahead.

The Children’s Place is the latest retailer to say heavy promotions and bad weather hurt its fourth-quarter results.

The company’s net earnings in the quarter ended Feb. 1 dropped 18% to $15.7 million, from $19.1 million in the year-ago period, which had an extra week. It reported net sales of $467.5 million for the quarter, down from $509.2 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales declined 4.3%.

Snack manufacturer Mondelez International has entered into a global strategic partnership with Facebook, as the company continues to shift more media spending to digital, especially social and mobile, across the entire consumer journey.