News

Commerce, Calif. -- Smart & Final Stores, Inc. reported that profit for the third quarter edged up 1.9% to $10.2 million. Sales surged 10.8% to $1.13 billion, and same-store sales leapt 6.6%.   “We continue to grow sales in both of our store banners--Smart & Final and Cash & Carry--and this has translated into strong financial results.," said Dave Hirz, president and CEO.  

Columbus, Ohio -- Big Lots has launched a marketing program around spurring holiday home décor purchases by declaring Nov.16-22, 2014, as the nation's first Decorate Your Home for the Holidays Week.  

Seattle -- Nordstrom has surpassed Wall Street estimates with an unexpected jump in profit and sales for the quarter ended Nov. 1.   The department store retailer reported a profit of $142 million for the third quarter, up from $137 million in the year-ago period.   Sales jumped 9% to $3.14 billion, beating the expected $3.11 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 3.9%.  

New York -- More shoppers will be leveraging their mobile phones for holiday purchasing than ever before. Burst Media and Rhythm NewMedia’s 10th annual holiday survey found that 39.5% of respondents who use a smartphone and/or tablet to shop will use their mobile devices more this holiday season versus last.  

Little Rock, Ark. -- Dillard's Inc. reported Thursday a profit of $55.2 million in its fiscal third quarter, up 8.4% over the $50.9 million profit in the same period last year.   Sales, however, dipped to $1.460 billion, from $1.469 billion, and same-stores sales declined 1%.   Still, said CEO William T. Dillard II, "We believe we are positioned very well for the holiday season.”  

New York -- Applied Predictive Technologies announced that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will license APT's Test & Learn software to test business initiatives such as menu strategies, pricing, and capital investments.  

New York -- A 2014 Kelly Scott Madison Holiday Shopping Study revealed that the top concerns for consumers this holiday season are shipping costs and online security, as 71% of respondents ranked both as top-of-mind.   Other findings focused on timing and returns:  

Perhaps the most aggressive traffic and sales generating promotional effort this Black Friday comes courtesy of Old Navy.

The Old Navy division of Gap, Inc., plans to open its more than 800 stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and will price all merchandise at half off for 31 hours until stores close at 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And, if the 50% markdown isn’t sufficient to motivate shoppers, the retailer plans generate store traffic by giving away $1 million to one lucky customer and 1,000 $200 gift certificates.

Spanx, one of the hottest brands in retail, named finance executive Dan Glennon to the new role of COO and CFO to help drive growth at the leading shapewear brand.

Glennon will lead the cross functional teams of global finance, legal, information technology, sourcing, manufacturing and planning as well as data and analytics. He will report directly to Spanx CEO Jan Singer.

Dollar General is leveraging the expansive reach of its more than 11,500 stores this holiday season to benefit several organizations aligned with the retailer’s mission of serving others.

The retailer is partnering with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital’s Thanks and Giving campaign and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation’s “You’re the Hero” toy drive, as well as other local toy drives, to offer customers an opportunity to give back this holiday season.