Omnichannel

Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Company isn’t resting on its laurels. The chain’s five-year strategic growth plan—unveiled Thursday at its biennial Investor Day—includes new store formats,  expanded food offerings, and digital initiatives.  

Kmart eked out a positive third quarter same store sales increase, but parent company Sears Holdings still reported a $548 million loss while CEO Edward Lampert claimed customers are responding to transformation efforts.

Challenging times continue for teen retailer Aeropostale, as an 11 percent drop in same-store sales leads the company to report its eighth straight quarterly loss.

The retailer also said it would close 75 stores in the fourth quarter.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings Corp. reported a third quarter fiscal 2014 net loss of $548 million, up from the $534 million loss it reported in the year-ago period but smaller than its previously estimated. Cost-cutting measures helped Sears reduce its net loss growth. The discounter also revealed that  it plans to close a total of 235 underperforming stores in 2014, which is nearly double the projection of 130 it made in August.  Sears said eliminating those stores should boost EBITDA by $50 million.  

Plano, Texas –  Hoping to boost its holiday mobile traffic, J.C. Penney has enhanced its digital presence, including an all-new JCPenney iPhone app. Along with improved navigation, faster browsing and easier access to coupons, one notable feature of the JCPenney app is the ability for customers to scan the barcode of an item to find its availability on jcpenney.com   

With 765 stores now in operation, Ulta Beauty’s unique value proposition continues to resonate strongly with shoppers.

The more recent evidence could be seen in the company’s third quarter results which saw same stores sales accelerate 9.5 percent from a prior year gain of 6.8 percent.

Wawa will become the first national retailer in the convenience retail channel to offer Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountains chain-wide.

The Coca-Cola Freestyle machine is a touchscreen soda fountain that features over 100 different Coca-Cola drink products and custom flavors.

New York – An increase in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses helped increase net loss at New York & Company Inc. to $9.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, up from $3.4 million a year earlier. Net sales declined 3% to $210.6 million from $217.3 million, and same-store sales dropped 3.4%.   New York & Company cited soft performance in its wear-to-work category and the impact of product delays resulting from West Coast port labor issues as negatively impacting sales.