News

  New York - J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Rite Aid, Meijer and Sears rank as the best retailers for Black Friday deals, according to a survey by personal finance social network WalletHub.  The survey shows that Penney has the highest overall discount rate at 65%, while Big Lots, at 24%, and Costco, at 21%, have the lowest. WalletHub surveyed 5,525 deals from the 2014 Black Friday ad scans of 21 of the biggest U.S. retailers. Here is a quick summary of some of the key findings.

Denver – An estimated 28% of consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping at mass retailers, compared to 26% who will frequent online retailers. According to an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, free shipping continues to be the most popular offer for holiday shoppers, with 58% of shoppers reporting they expect to take advantage of it this holiday season.   

Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar Tree Inc. beat Wall Street predictions for profits and sales in a generally strong third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income rose 6% to $133 million from $125.4 million.   Consolidated net sales increased 11% to $2.1 billion from $1.88 billion and consolidated same-store sales increased 5.9%.

Columbus, Ohio – L Brands Inc. beat Wall Street projections with net income of $131.8 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2014, up 43% from $91.99 million the same period the prior fiscal year. A boost in pretax income helped drive L Brands’ impressive profit growth.   Net sales rose 7% to $2.32 billion from $2.17 billion, and same-store sales increased 5%. 

Seattle – Amazon.com will start offering Black Friday deals on Friday, Nov. 21, and adding new deals as often as every 10 minutes for eight straight days. Amazon will introduce three Deals of the Day starting on Thanksgiving at midnight, as well as three more on Black Friday, in addition to thousands of limited-time Lightning Deals.   

Duluth, Minn. – Specialty fashion retailer Maurices has partnered with interactive video provider Zentrick to upgrade its "How to Wear It" and "What to Wear: Summer 2014" online video campaigns. By integrating interactive elements into six 'look'-inspired videos, Zentrick and Maurices logged 15.2% engagement and a 7.4% click-through rate (CTR).   

Portland, Ore. – Seven in 10 (71%) consumers intend to purchase at least one gift card  from an online website or mobile website/app during the upcoming holiday season, while 74% will buy at least one digital gift card. According to new data from POS solutions provider InComm, 85% of respondents age 18-35 agree that they’re likely to purchase at least one digital gift card this holiday season  

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place Inc. has named Anurup Pruthi as senior VP and CFO, effective Dec. 1, 2014. He will report to Michael Scarpa, COO.  

  San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. surpassed Wall Street expectations with its profit and sales results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Earnings per share increased 17% to $0.68 from $0.58 in the same quarter the previous fiscal year.   Retail net revenues increased 3% to $556 million from $540 million, primarily driven by West Elm and Pottery Barn, partially offset by a decrease in Williams-Sonoma due to eight fewer stores  

Irving, Texas - Net income increased 36% to $64 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to $47 million in the same quarter last year at The Michaels Companies. A decrease in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped boost profits. Net sales increased by 1% to $1.13 billion from $1.12 billion, while same-store sales decreased by 0.8%. Michaels plans to open two new stores in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.