Data & Analytics

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. on Friday released a statement in which it said that its balance sheet continues to be strong, with total liquidity of $820 million at the end of the first quarter. The chain released the statement the day after a report said the retailer was considering hiring a financial adviser.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Retailers and CPG companies with leading stock prices are more likely than their lagging competitors to use Big Data analytics to understand and adjust to customer needs. According to a study of 325 senior retail merchandising executives conducted by IBM Center for Applied Insights in conjunction with Planet Retail, 65% of leading retail merchandisers feel Big Data analytics is critical to their business compared to just 38% of other retail companies.

Sport Chalet has opened its first urban retail concept, at the renovated FIGat7th center in downtown Los Angeles. Sleek and contemporary looking, the 27,000-sq.-ft. store puts the emphasis on education and training, with a dedicated central area, the “Expert Center,” for classes and clinics. It’s designed to facilitate customer interaction with in-store experts on any topic, ranging from bike repair to the area’s best surfing spots.

New York -- The U.S. Green Building Council’s membership has voted to adopt the next version of its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification system.

The new update, LEEDv4, will launch this fall at USGBC’s annual Greenbuild convention. It has been expanded to include more building sectors, such as data centers, warehouses and distribution centers.

Another LEED v4 change includes allocating about 20% of all points to optimizing energy performance over the ASHRAE 90.1-2010.

Deerfield, Ill. – Walgreens is integrating its QuickPrints one-hour photo printing technology with the LifePics photo printing network. This means that LifePics users can now order photos through the LifePic mobile app, website or LifePic partner, and have them printed in an hour at any Walgreens store.

"With our more than 8,000 locations, we look forward to expanding printing options and services for this category," said Jasbir Patel, senior director of photo, daily living and omni-channel for Walgreens.

Santa Fe Springs, Calif. -- Sona Enterprises, a direct wholesaler/distributor of more than 3,000 SKUs to gift shops, travel agencies, camping and hiking outfitters, auto dealerships/parts stores/repair shops, jewelry and convenience stores, has improved upon manual warehouse management procedures using the AcellosOne warehouse management system (WMS).

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco has started the summer right, reporting sales of $9.92 billion for the month of June, the five-week period ended July 7, an 8% increase over the same period last year. 

For the 44-week period that ended Sunday, sales were $87.05 billion, also an 8% increase over the same period last year. For the month and the 44-week period, same-store sales rose 6%.

LOS ANGELES — PriceGrabber, a division of CPL Holdings, has appointed Jeff Goldstein as president. In his new role Goldstein will direct strategy and oversee the day-to-day operations of the business. 

BRISBANE, Calif. — Global specialty retailer Bebe reported retail sales of $109 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended July 6, a decrease of 8.5% compared to $119.1 million for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012. 

Comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 7.1% compared to a decrease of 2.5% in the fourth fiscal quarter of the prior year. The decrease was primarily driven by the negative comparable store traffic during the quarter, with April being the most negative. 

Redmond, Wash. -- In an internal email to all employees, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a sweeping internal realignment he said will build upon a strategy launched last year to bring Microsoft more fully into the devices and services market.

The company will reduce emphasis on its traditional strong point of consumer and business software, such as the Windows OS and Office suite of desktop applications, and focus more on computing devices such as Xbox and Surface and on services delivered to mobile device users.