Data & Analytics

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores named David Cheesewright, 51, as the new president and CEO of Walmart International. He succeeds Douglas McMillon, who is set to become the chain’s CEO, the retailer's top executive. Both assume their new roles on Feb. 1, 2014.

By Alex Brown, CEO, 10th Magniture

I certainly don’t have to tell you that the 2013 holiday retail season is upon us, since you’ve probably had to plan your technology all year to handle the imminent spikes in in-store and online traffic. And, in just a couple of weeks, you’ll start planning your technology budget for 2014’s holiday season.

Lumber Liquidators has raised its full year 2013 outlook based on year-to-date results and current trends.

The company now expects net sales in the range of $994 million to $1 billion, up from a previous range of $985 million to $995 million, with the fourth quarter ranging from $252 million to $258 million.

Lumber Liquidators also expects to open a total of 29-30 new stores during 2013 and increase net store sales 15% to 16%, up from a previous range of 14% to 15%, with the fourth quarter ranging from 13% to 15%.

Burlington Stores credited performance at new stores for driving net sales during the third quarter.

The company’s net sales increased 10% to $1.06 billion, from $967.9 million. The increased was fueled primarily by a $53.2 million increase in sales related to new stores and stores previously opened that are not included in same-store sales, as well as a 3.9% increase in same-store sales.

The company also shrank its net loss to $7.4 million from $16.8 million during the quarter, compared to the prior-year quarter.

Retailers and manufacturers targeting Gen X and Y shoppers this holiday season should introduce more transparency into their product labels and identify fair trade, conflict-free and environmentally friendly practices.

Results of a new survey by KPMG LLP reveal that nearly 70% of consumers younger than age 30 consider social issues such as sustainability, human rights and fair trade before making a purchase. This outpaces the fewer than 50% of consumers overall who feel the same way.

Catchpoint Systems, a Web performance and application monitoring tools developer, has unveiled a new Real User Measurement (RUM) tool called Glimpse.

According to the company, the measurement solution is designed to give companies a better understanding of the quality of their actual website user experiences to drive business success by offering a comprehensive view of end user experience, website performance and engagement.

St. Petersburg, Russia – Russian grocery chain Land is piloting Synqera Loyalty Generators, compact printing devices with interactive touch-screens at the entrance of each of the chosen piloting store locations, as well as Simplate devices at checkout, providing targeted content relevant to new and returning customers.

New York -- SK Planet Inc. is launching its first major mobile app, Styletag, for finding, sharing and buying the current fashion styles. The dynamic, free fashion app will be released Monday, Dec. 9 for iOS 7 (iPad, iPhone and iPod) and on Google Play for Android.  

Arlington, Va. – Supermarket industry trade group Food Marketing Institute (FMI) will exclusively endorse and encourage the use of ReposiTrak among its food retail and wholesale members.

Under a new joint agreement, ReposiTrak will be the exclusive solution provider endorsed by FMI in connection with the food and drug safety traceability of goods and related services, including document management. FMI will introduce ReposiTrak to its members, which operate nearly 40,000 stores and 25,000 pharmacies.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to grow 1.8% in December, compared to the same month last year, and the year should end with an increase of 2.3% from 2012. According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.43 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in October, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available.