Data & Analytics

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys“R”Us reported that sales for the the fourth quarter decreased $155 million to $5.8 billion and that net earnings fell to $239 million from $343 million in the prior year.

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold USA announced Friday it has appointed Paul Scorza as chief information officer for the company, effective April 1.

Scorza, a 30-year veteran of IBM, will oversee Ahold USA information management functions, with a focus on systems and business processes to improve efficiency, effectiveness, controls and operations.

The U.S. subsidiary of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service.
 

San Jose, Calif. -- Forty percent of retailers have no online fraud prevention in place, despite the fact that 85% consider online fraud prevention a high priority, according to a survey by ThreatMetrix, a provider of integrated cybercrime prevention solutions.

The study, “The ThreatMetrix 2012 State of Cybercrime Study,” was conducted by Info-Tech Research Group and surveyed U.S. business managers and IT executives within retail and financial services organizations on the level of cybersecurity solutions they have in place.

Tampa, Fla. -- RetailSense, a marketing software company that accelerates retail and agile marketing processes, announced that Family Dollar Store has signed a multi-year contract with Retail Sense. This new partnership includes the implementation of the latest release of IntelliSense marketing resource management solutions.
 

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us on Friday reported that its sales and profits declined in the fourth quarter and the full year. The company also revealed in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it is withdrawing its plan to go public, blaming “unfavorable market conditions” and its “executive leadership transition” for the decision.  

Atlanta -- Transwestern’s Atlanta office announced Thursday that Russell Lipscomb has been promoted to SVP of property management services.

In his new role, Lipscomb will expand his oversight into business development initiatives and engage in new pursuits to further expand Transwestern’s footprint throughout the Southeast. He will continue to direct a team of 43 property management professionals and provide oversight for all Atlanta-based property management assignments.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Regency Centers announced Thursday that, through its 2012 “greengenuity” program, it increased annual energy savings by 75%, achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for three projects, and tripled the amount of construction and demolition material recycled during the year.
 

Seattle -- Amazon.com announced that it has agreed to acquire social site Goodreads, an online book recommendation community that has more than 16 millions around the globe. The financial terms of the deal, which enhances Amazon's already significant clout in the book publishing world, were not disclosed.

New York -- Consumer spending increased in February by the most in five months as incomes rose and the job market improved.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending rose 0.7% last month, after an upwardly revised increase from 0.2% to 0.4% in January.  

WAYNE, N.J. — Babies"R"Us has partnered with WhatToExpect.com to provide expectant moms access to their combined content and retail resources. As part of this collaboration, the Babies"R"Us Registry is now available on WhatToExpect.com. Additionally, the retailer plans to feature content from WhatToExpect.com through various Babies"R"Us channels.