Data & Analytics

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp., Limited Brands and TJX Cos. on Thursday reported better-than-expected sales for February, as growing employment and a surging stock market apparently offset the impact of higher taxes. (Some analysts cautioned, however, that the monthly figures have become less influential as an economic indicator as the number of retailers reporting on a monthly basis has dropped considerable. As of this month, Target and Kohl’s are no longer reporting monthly sales.)

New York -- Gap Inc. said Thursday that its February same-store sales rose a better-than-expected 3% for the four weeks ended Feb. 25. Analysts expected a 2% increase.
   
The chain was due to release the sales figures after the market closed, but put them out at midday after they were found in a leaked transcript of prerecorded comments.

By division, same-store sales rose 2% at Gap and 6% at Old Navy. They fell 5% at Banana Republic.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens announced plans to build what the company believes will be the nation’s first net-zero energy retail store. The store, which is predicted to produce energy equal to or greater than it consumes, will be located in Evanston, Ill., at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Keeney Street, where demolition of an existing Walgreens store now is under way.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Hanes has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's highly coveted Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award for 2013.  The award is the company's fourth consecutive year of Energy Star recognition and its second consecutive year as a recipient of the Sustained Excellence Award, which is given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding sustainability leadership year after year.

New York -- The ax has fallen — again — at J.C. Penney Co. The retailer laid off approximately 2,200 employees in its stores and district offices on Wednesday, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The majority of the staff cuts occurred in some 100 stores that had significant sales declines last year, spokeswoman Daphne Avilla said in the report, with Penney adjusting the employee count to match each store’s new level of business.

LISLE, ILLINOIS — The Numerical Algorithms Group, Ltd., a provider of mathematical software components to industry and other organizations, has named Ken Kubat to the board of directors of its North American subsidiary NAG, Inc. The appointment is effective immediately.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. on Thursday reported a better-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter profit amid a surge in sales.

For the period ending Feb. 2, Kroger earned $461.5 million, compared to the year ago period when the company reported a loss of $306.9 million as pension costs dragged down results.

Revenue rose 12.8% to $24.2 billion. Same-store sales increased 3% for the quarter, excluding fuel. After adjusting for the extra week in the fourth quarter, total sales increased by 3.7% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

AUSTIN, Texas — SecureNet announced that it will launch its next generation of Mobile Payments API libraries (version 2.0) early next month, enabling quick and easy integration with mobile and point-of-sale applications for seamless mobile checkout. The company also plans to release an advanced suite of developer integration tools complete with interactive code samples in multiple languages, easy-to-follow quick start guides by acceptance type, a robust self-service development sandbox and specialized support resources.