Data & Analytics

Pier 1 Imports president and CEO Alex W. Smith described fiscal 2014 as a transformational year for the company, emphasizing the company’s continued focus on its ‘1 Pier 1’ strategy, which has evolved its operating model from a broad portfolio of stores to a true omnichannel retail business.

But the company had a difficult fourth quarter marked what it described as an unusually high number of snowstorms, which impacted approximately two-thirds of its selling days in many of its key markets.

Boston – Email remarketing to online customers who visit e-commerce sites but do not make a purchase can significantly boost conversion and revenue rates for online retailers. According to a new report from the SeeWhy Conversion Academy analyzing 80 Demandware-based e-commerce sites, “The ROI of Email Remarketing for E-commerce and Brands,” on average, 97% of visitors to e-commerce sites don’t make a purchase.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity Corp. reported declining net and same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Net sales decreased 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 5.1%.

Destination Maternity said the decline in net sales resulted primarily from the decrease in comparable sales and decreased sales related to the company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores.

New York -- Increasing tax burdens (76%) are the top concern of retail CEOs, according to PwC’s 17th Annual Global CEO Survey. Worries about the tax burden were followed by the government response to the fiscal deficit and debt burden (74%), over-regulation (69%), the high and volatile prices of raw materials (68%), and exchange rate volatility (64%).

Union, N.J. – Bed, Bath & Beyond met Wall Street expectations with falling net earnings during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Compared to the same period a year earlier, net earnings dropped 11% to $333.3 million, from $373.87 million.

Net sales fell 6% to $3.2 billion, from $3.4 billion. In one bright spot, same-store sales rose 1.7%. Bed, Bath & Beyond attributed some of its net earnings decline to disruptive weather in the fourth quarter.

Family Dollar plans to close 370 underperforming stores, cut jobs and lower prices on 1,000 basic items following a disappointing second quarter, which was adversely affected by the extra week in last year's quarter, severe weather, holiday promotions and a challenging consumer environment.

The company is also slowing its new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to bolster its return on investment. It now anticipates opening 350 to 400 new stores as opposed to approximately 525 stores in 2014.
 

Fort Worth, Texas – Snowstorms that affected as many as two-thirds of the selling days in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 in some key markets dampened financial performance at Pier 1 Imports Inc.

Compared to the same period the prior year, net income fell 31% to $42.6 million from $61.7 million. Total sales fell 6% to $515.8 million from $551.6 million and same-store sales dropped 4.6%.

In the wake of acquiring Houston-based RediClinic, Rite Aid reported revenues of $6.6 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 1, resulting from a 2.2% lift primarily attributed to an increase in pharmacy same-store sales.

For the full year, Rite Aid reported $25.5 billion in revenues, up 0.5%.