News

Washington, D.C. – Retailers looking forward to consumers receiving their tax refund checks this year may be setting themselves up for disappointment. According to a new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, close to half (47%) of the 66% of Americans expecting a tax refund this year plan to save it.

Michaels is trying to drive digital engagement with customers by giving away the springtime trip of a lifetime. 

The retailer will be offering up a free trip for two to Paris for those who create art and upload it to Michaels' website or social media venues.

Home Depot posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter performance, but warned that a strong dollar could hurt its results for the year.

The retailer posted an 8.3% increase in sales to $19.2 billion, and fourth quarter net earnings were up 36.1% to $1.38 billion. Same store sales for the quarter were positive 7.9%, and positive 8.9% for U.S. stores.

Target Corp. reportedly thinks having a range of organic products matters.

Irving, Texas – Paris has inspired great works of art, film and literature, and now the City of Light is inspiring an omnichannel contest at The Michaels Companies Inc. The specialty arts and crafts retailer is preparing for “Springtime in Paris,” a contest where customers will create Parisian-inspired art, or a floral, baking or paper craft project, take a photo and upload it or share on social media.

Petco is leveraging the popularity of raw pet food by launching a series of educational events at some of its stores.

Starting on March 2, on the first Monday of each month, Unleashed by Petco stores will sample a variety of frozen, dehydrated and freeze-dried raw food and treats and educate customers on the health benefits of raw food as part of the Monday Night Raw Next-Level Nutrition event series.

North Bergen, N.J. – Vitamin Shoppe Inc. expects to open about 60 new stores during fiscal 2015. This plan follows a successful fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, with a net income increase of 3% to $11.6 million from $11.2 million the same period the prior year.

A lower selling, general and administrative (SG&A) rate helped boost net income. Total net sales increased 13% to $290.1 million compared to $256.4 million. Same-store sales grew 1.7% and e-commerce same-store sales rose 5.6%.

Coach has hired Demandware to help re-launch its website on a new platform to better serve its omnichannel needs.

Coach says it switched from its previous platform to Demandware’s cloud solution to gain greater business agility and to fuel growth across channels and geographies.