News

Union, N.J. — Undaunted by a still difficult housing market, Bed Bath & Beyond blew away analysts’ third quarter earnings estimates and reported a 4.1% same-store sales increase for the period ended Nov. 26.

Change at the top is an inevitable fact of life in any profession, and retail is no exception. While the reasons behind the need to find a new chief executive vary widely, the incoming executives face a common challenge: taking the business — be it faltering or thriving — forward without missing a beat.

Ace Hardware appointed John Venhuizen chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1, 2012.

Venhuizen has spent nearly two decades with Ace and most recently served as executive VP supply chain, information technology (IT) and international. In this position, he helped grow the number of Ace stores around the world, as well as create a variety of successful support and incentive programs for retailers.

The physical and virtual retail worlds continue to converge thanks to innovative technology, especially as consumers rapidly adopt digital solutions and apply them to their retailing experiences.

“Consumer-driven solutions are what keep customers at the epicenter of the shopping experience, and that’s what retail is all about,” said Sahir Anand, VP and research group director for Aberdeen Group, Boston.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A regional supermarket chain and its charitable arm once again has donated funds to the United States Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.

Stater Bros., along with Stater Bros. Charities, earlier this month presented a $26,000 check to the program, which will be used to purchase toys that will be distributed to community-based organizations in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

Apparel retailers know success hinges on finding the right fit for their core customer — and that “fit” encompasses all aspects of the shopping experience from merchandise selection to customer service. The challenge is even greater for Casual Male Retail Group (CMRG), the nation’s largest retailer of big and tall men’s apparel and accessories.

Washington, D.C. -- A study released Wednesday by the National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee revealed a false sense of cyber security for mobile users.

The survey, conducted by Zogby International, found that 72% of Americans have never installed data protection applications or security software on their smartphones in order to protect against data loss or against viruses and malware.

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended Nov. 26 rose 28% to $228.5 million, compared with $188.6 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 6.8% to $2.3 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 4.1%.

During the quarter, the company opened seven Bed Bath & Beyond stores, seven Buybuy Baby stores, one Christmas Tree Shops store and one Harmon Face Values store.