News

Panties and bras support L Brands in December
The 2014 holiday season was a perky one at L Brands, as sales increased beyond expectations in December.

The parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works reported that same store sales across the company increased by 4% for the month. Wall Street analysts had been predicting a 3.6% increase.
Retail Performance Pulse report shows holiday traffic decline
San Jose, Calif. -- Despite some surprising showings over the holiday 2014 shopping season, a report by RetailNext said that overall traffic at brick-and-mortar stores dipped 7.1% for the Nov. 30-Jan. 3 shopping period.

The newly released Retail Performance Pulse also showed a 6.5% year-over-year decrease in sales.

Four 2015 Retail Trends You Haven’t Already Heard About

By Dave Weinberger, CBX

Have you read any 2015 retail trend forecasts lately? Let’s face it, many so-called trends for the year ahead — the need to focus on things like mobile payment, customization, foodservice, smaller formats or millennial shoppers, to name a few — are at this point just the cost of doing business.
Connected home capabilities expanding at Lowe’s

Lowe’s has a new partner in its pursuit of the connected home market and the lofty goal of making customers’ homes and lives smarter.

The nation’s second largest home improvement retailer will sell new smart home devices in 2015 certified by Icontrol Networks, the company behind the most widely used connected home platform in the industry.
Costco comps surge 8% in U.S.

Costco showed again in December why it’s the cream of the crop among warehouse club stores.

The Wash.-based retailer reported an increase of 8% in same store sales in the United States, excluding gasoline sales and foreign exchange. Same-store sales at international stores rose by 1%.

Net sales for the retailer rose 5% to $12.12 billion in December from $11.53 billion a year earlier.
Macy's restructuring: 14 store closures, thousands of layoffs, perhaps an off-price focus

Cincinnati -- In response to changes in “where the customer is headed,” Macy’s chief announced on Thursday a sweeping reorganization plan that will close 14 under-performing stores, lay off thousands of workers and, most far-reaching, ready the retailer to respond to an omnichannel shopping environment.
Havertys Q4 sales grow 9%

Atlanta - Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 at Havertys Furniture Companies Inc. increased 9% to $213 million, compared with $196.2 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Same-store sales increased 8.3%.
Retail Link insights from Walmart’s top techie

Hers may not be a household name among Walmart suppliers, but few of the retailer’s executives have as much of an impact on the daily lives of trading partners as Suja Chandrasekaran.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Walmart, Chandrasekaran leads the technology and data transformation underway at Walmart that is referred to as Retail Link 2.0. The information sharing system known as Retail Link was pioneered by Walmart more than two decades ago and today is used extensively by suppliers for all manner of supply chain applications.
Aeropostale holiday sales fail to take off

New York – Aeropostale did not deliver strong holiday sales in 2014. Total net sales for the nine-week period ended Jan. 3, 2015 decreased 11% to $507.8 million, down 11% from $572 million in the 2013 holiday season

Same-store sales, including the e-commerce channel, decreased 9%. The company said profit margins during the holiday period were higher than expected and same-store sales were within original guidance for the quarter.
REI veteran is new Bartell Drugs president

Bartell Drugs has selected former REI executive Brian Unmacht as its new president.

Prior to joining the 63-store pharmacy retailer, Unmacht served as REI’s EVP and CEO. He has served as a member of Bartell Drugs’ board of directors since 2011.

Bartell Drugs’ chairman and CEO George D. Bartell said that filling the position at the family-owned company supports future succession plans as it celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2015. Bartell Drugs is the oldest and largest family-owned drug store chain in the United States.