Data & Analytics

COLUMBUS, Ohio — DSW's model of bringing designer goods to a budget-conscious consumer continues to pay off, as the company posted sales and earnings growth for its second quarter. DSW Inc. reported that net sales for the second quarter increased 4.7% to $476.3 million from $415.1 million in the second quarter of 2010. Comparable sales for the second quarter increased 12.3%. 

Reported net income was $139.9 million, or $3.96 per diluted share. This compares with reported net income of $26.9 million, or $1.00 per diluted share.

It’s been one extreme or another the past few weeks in the retail world. First, luxury retailers Tiffany and Saks reported strong sales and profits and then on Tuesday Dollar General results showed the low-end consumers have some spending power and a taste for its brand of discount retail.

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble reported that total sales for the first quarter were $1.4 billion, a 2% increase compared with the prior year. Sales through BN.com increased 37% as compared with the prior year to $198 million, with comparable sales increasing 65%. This increase was driven by strong demand for the Nook product line, including the continued success of the Nook Color, the mid-quarter launch of the Nook Simple Touch Reader and a quadrupling of digital content sales over last year’s first quarter.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp. reported Tuesday that its second-quarter net income rose 3.5% to $146 million from $141.2 million in the year-ago period. Sales increased 11% to $3.58 billion; same-store sales rose 5.9%. Its results beat expectations. 

The company also raised its full-year outlook.

Phoenix -- Cole Real Estate Investments said Monday that it has acquired a portfolio of 11 PetSmart retail properties for $74 million.

The approximately 300,000-sq.-ft. triple-net leased portfolio is located in primary markets in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Texas. The 11 individual retail properties are leased to PetSmart, under one master lease, with an original 20-year lease term and approximately 10 years remaining, plus three automatic renewals for up to a total of 20 additional years.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble said Tuesday it narrowed its net loss in its fiscal first quarter as sales of its Nook e-book reader and e-books helped offset lower physical book sales. The chain, which recently received a $204 million investment from former suitor Liberty Media, said sales of Nooks, e-books and magazines and other digital content and accessories, rose 140% to $227 million during the quarter.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores said Monday that its fourth-quarter net income fell 48% amid tough competition. The chain attributed the drop to the quarter being a week shorter this year than it was last year.

Winn-Dixie's net income for the quarter that ended June 29 was $7.3 million versus $14 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue fell 4% to $1.62 billion from $1.68 billion last year. Same-store sales rose 3.2%. Although average amount customers spent per visit rose 3.9%, 0.7% fewer shoppers came in, the company said.

Washington, D.C. -- Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) announced that Chico’s FAS has signed an agreement to license APT’s Test & Learn Management System.

Chico’s chose the solution after a pilot project which examined a range of the retailer’s promotional strategies. Using the Test & Learn approach during the pilot, Chicos’ gained valuable insights that helped it better understand its customers’ behavior.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The small business customer may have a greater reason to visit Office Depot now that the retailer has expanded its shredding and secure document archiving service program through a new partnership with information management company, Iron Mountain.

Home Depot and Lowe’s may receive a 1% bump to their third-quarter results as a result of Hurricane Irene sales, according to an analysis provided by MarketWatch. 

A variety of retail analysts weighed in on the question of whether Irene would help or hurt retail sales, given that many stores were forced to close when evacuation orders came. But the overall consensus was that before-and-after hurricane sales will benefit home improvement retailers, while negatively impacting department stores, specialty stores and any retailer relying on back-to-school sales.