News

E-commerce and Disney’s Frozen helped propel Books-A-Million’s holiday sales over Barnes & Noble’s.

Books-A-Million, the country’s second largest bookstore chain, reported that total sales for the nine-week period ended Jan. 3 were $129.2 million, an increase of 1.1% over the same period a year ago. Same store sales rose 1.2%, but excluding sales of e-reader devices comp sales were up 1.7% in the nine week period compared to the holiday season last year.

From Valentine’s Day to Christmas, the year is filled with big moments for retailers – but a retailer’s strategy should be much more than a numbers game during these times. Rather, these moments present an opportunity to build momentum for the entire year with a 360-degree brand strategy that gives shoppers an unforgettable experience that will keep them coming back.

To maximize the potential benefits of big retail moments throughout 2015, keep these five pillars in mind:

New York - Kurt Salmon, Tyco Retail Solutions, and Mobispoke are partnering to enable retailers to provide a more cutting-edge store experience that includes interactive mannequins, fixtures and fitting rooms, as well as connected employees. The alliance is anchored by an interactive demonstration lab at Tyco’s Retail Experience Center.  

Santa did not bring any gifts this past holiday season for Toys "R" Us, as the toy retailer reported a drop in same store sales.

Toys “R” Us said same store sales in the United States fell 5%. The company said gross margins, however, improved, especially in the U.S., after the company was more "disciplined" in its promotional offers and more "rational" in its pricing strategy.

Cincinnati - Half Price Books has selected the PCMS Vision BeanStore POS system for its stores nationwide. PCMS is in the process of rolling out the system at all 117 Half Price Books stores.

Half Price Books selected PCMS over a number of competitive vendors due to the ability of PCMS to support the retailer’s unique inventory management requirements around the buying and selling of new and used books and other items.

After a successful collaboration with the NFL last year, Bloomingdale's is turning its eye to the basketball court by teaming up with the NBA for the 2015 All-Star Game.

Bloomingdale's will set up 16 basketball-inspired pop-up shops at its stores across the country and on bloomingdales.com/nba. The store will offer fans retro-era jerseys, vintage graphic T-shirts, accessories from brands like Mitchell & Ness, Sportique, #BEENTRILL#, and Stance, and a special bomber jackets designed by Mark McNairy.

San Diego – PriceSmart Inc. reported mixed results for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, missing Wall Street expectations for net income but exceeding revenue forecasts. Net income totaled $20.65 million, down 4% from $21.43 million.

Higher income taxes and expenses drove the decline in profit. Total revenues fared better, growing 8% to $656 million, from $605.6 million. Same-store sales rose 1.5%.
 

Helping small business owners and consumers achieve peak performance is the premise behind a new branding initiative at Office Depot called, “Gear Up For Great.”