News

New York -- Aeropostale Inc. on Monday narrowed its fourth-quarter loss forecast on better than expected sales, margins, and expense management in January, and announced two executive appointments.  

Gap Inc. is raising its profit guidance based on its fourth-quarter sales and reduced taxes.

The retailer says it expects to report a profit of $2.86 to $2.87 per share for the year, up from its previous estimate of $2.73 to $2.78 per share. Analysts expected $2.74 per share on average.

The San Francisco company says its total fourth-quarter sales grew 3% to $4.71 billion compared with $4.58 billion for the fourth quarter last year.

New York -- West Coast port congestion issues could cost retailers as much as $7 billion this year, according to an analysis by Kurt Salmon. Work stoppage threats and major trade associations’ calls for federal intervention have retailers and consumer products companies on high alert.
 

Washington, D.C. -- Mobile is the top priority for retailers in 2015, according to the 2015 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc., State of Retailing Online, with 58% of surveyed retailers placing it at the top of their list, up from 53% last year.

The survey found smartphone sales as a percentage of online sales grew from 8% in 2013 to 12% in 2014, an increase of 50%. Tablets’ share of the pie also grew from 13% of online sales in 2013 to 16% in 2014.

New York -- In a surprise move, Kate Spade & Company announced it is closing all 19 of its lower-priced Kate Spade Saturday stores and all 12 of its Jack Spade menswear stores. Both brands will remain in the luxury company's portfolio, with Kate Spade Saturday being folded into Kate Spade, and Jack Spade being sold at other retailers and online. The company also announced a new joint venture to speed its growth in China, where it sees a long-term potential for 100 stores.

New York -- Companies are losing as much as 25% of online revenues an average per respondent of $92.3 million per year – to mobile fraud, according to a study by RSA and TeleSign, a provider of mobile identity verification solutions. Nearly one-third of organizations lost as much as 10% and up to 25% of revenues due to mobile fraud.

Coach's efforts to regain its upscale brand identity received a boost this month with the addition of a veteran luxury goods retailer to its board of directors.

“We are extremely pleased that Andrea Guerra has agreed to join our board,” said Victor Luis, CEO at Coach Inc. “As Coach continues its transformation into a modern luxury lifestyle brand, Andrea's extensive exposure to a wide variety of best-in-class brands and his broad retail and international experience will prove valuable to our team."

Cincinnati – Post-holiday returns serve as a way to ensure the stress of the holiday season lasts into the New Year. According to a survey of about 1,200 adults by loyalty program provider LoyaltyOne, one out of every two U.S. shoppers (51%) say that returning gifts adds to their post-holiday stress.