News

The offices of Retailing Today will be closed Monday, May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. on Thursday said its first-quarter profit dropped 22%, hurt by weakening foreign currencies.

The retailer earned $260 million in the three-month period ended May 3, down from $333 million in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 1.2% to $3.77 billion. Same-store sales were down 1%.

Lynnwood, Wash. -- Teen active-sports retailer Zumiez reported net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 of $2.5 million, flat with the year-ago period. The retailer intends to open approximately 55 stores in fiscal 2014, including up to seven locations in Canada and five in Europe.

Total net sales for the first quarter ended May 3, 2014, increased 9.7% to $162.9 million from $148.5 million last year. Same-store sales increased 1.8%.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Modern shoppers have a very low tolerance for poor customer service, and crave a more intimate relationship where retailers know their needs, wants and preferences, and respect their time and business. According to an April 2014 research survey from customer engagement technology vendor Kana Software Inc., when asked about their preferred customer service communication channels used to engage with retailers in the past six months, the channel named most often as most preferred was Web (24.5%), followed by email (17.9%).

Montreal -- Jesta I.S., a leading supplier of enterprise software solutions for retailers, manufacturers, and distributors, announced that Peter Harris Clothes/Label Shopper Stores, an off-price apparel, accessories, and home decor chain is partnering with Jesta I.S. to implement their vision merchandising, vision POS, and vision financials software solutions.

Boston - Cone Communications has launched its new social impact tool to help companies assess, communicate and prove their progress against addressing critical social issues. The Cone Social Return Assessment is a proprietary, diagnostic tool that uncovers gaps and opportunities within three elements critical to a company's successful program: awareness, engagement and impact, and provides a plan to optimize its business and social return.   

On the heels of a mostly disappointing 2013 earnings season, many U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers will focus on building out their online presence for growth, according to Moody’s Investor Service’s new report, “Brick-and-Mortar Continues to March Online,” by Charlie O’Shea, VP – senior analyst, Moody’s.

Here are five highlights from the study:

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma had a strong first quarter of fiscal 2014, with net income climbing 17% to a better-than-expected $46.16 million from $39.17 million.

Net sales grew 10% to $974.33 million from $887.8 million, also topping estimates.

Total same-store sales grew 10%. Williams-Sonoma credited much of its success during the quarter to market share gains and advantages conferred by its multichannel operations.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates with net income of $138.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up 4% from $133.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Net sales rose 7% to $2 billion from $1.87 billion, and same-store sales increased 2%.

Columbus, Ohio – L Brands had a successful start to fiscal 2014. The company reported a 10% increase in net income to $156.9 million in the first quarter from $142.5 million the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales rose 5% to $2.39 billion from $2.27 billion, and same-store sales grew 2% across its retail banners. Higher pretax income and operating income helped boost net income, while especially strong growth in sales at the Victoria’s Secret banner helped drive overall net sales growth.