News

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Further signs of the nation's recovering housing market were evident in Whirlpool Corporation's reported net earnings of $198 million for the second quarter ended June 30, compared to net earnings of $113 million for the same period last year.

The company's net sales for the quarter were $4.7 billion, compared to $4.5 billion reported during the same period last year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency as well as Brazilian tax credits, sales increased approximately 6%.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Topco Associates has appointed Danell O’Neill as the company's director of corporate communications. She will report directly to president and CEO Randy Skoda.

TORONTO — It is easy to see why Loblaw wanted to acquire Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart following the release of second quarter results that highlight attractive growth prospects.

Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart saw a boost in second-quarter sales and earnings, and according to president and CEO Domenic Pilla, the company is “well-positioned heading into the back half of the year.”

NEW YORK — U.S. consumers spent more in June, as real home prices and initial unemployment claims continued to improve, according to the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index for June 2013.

The index comprises four components of tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, increased to 4.3 from a reading of 4.2 the previous month.   

Following is a summary of the four main components of the Index:

NEW YORK — Gilt.com has launched a free rewards program called Gilt Insider Program, which will offer Gilt members opportunities to score points redeemable for a variety of benefits.

Members can earn points simply for interacting with the site, and can then redeem them to shop sales early, earn access to discounts, get free shipping and attend exclusive events.

STOCKHOLM — With the U.S. housing market continuing to improve, it's no surprise that Electrolux CEO Keith McLoughlin expects the company's North American division to maintain the strong sales and earnings growth achieved in the second quarter throughout the rest of the year.

Because of the rising appliance consumption in North America, the company anticipates that demand for appliances in the U.S. will increase by 5-7% in 2013.

GRAPEVINE, Texas — As retailers large and small vie for foot traffic during the highly competitive back-to-school season, GameStop is focusing its efforts on the segment of its market that is on summer vacation.

The multichannel video game retailer has launched a five-week Summer Playcation promotion the offers gamers deals now through Aug. 18 in all U.S. GameStop locations.

Product safety data sheets don’t get a lot of love in the retail industry, but major changes are underway that will make this formerly mundane document the cornerstone of numerous best practices.

J.C. Penney is counting on a familiar blend of promotional tactics for the 2013 back-to-school season after a slate of merchandising initiatives and a free haircut offer ended horribly last year.

The department store retailer is touting the availability of some familiar brands and promotional pricing along with a new Joe Fresh Kids brand, expanded Levi’s assortments, free customization kits with the purchase of backpacks and shoes during August and dedicated landing pages at Jcp.com for key brands such as Arizona, Levi’s and Total Girl.

Walmart.com is the only conventional retailer to rank in the monthly Top 50 Web Properties report from comScore Media Metrix, but June traffic to the retailer’s site was below year-ago levels even as e-commerce is hailed as the next growth engine.