News

Mahwah, N.J. -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. on Monday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $15.7 million, compared with $29.8 million in the year-ago period. Its results missed Wall Street expectations.

Revenues for the quarter were $1.18 billion, compared with $1.20 billion in the prior year. The company attributed the decrease challenging tween market conditions at Justice and inventory-related issues at Lane Bryant. Results were partially offset by positive comp growth at Maurices and Catherines and new store growth at Maurices.

Memphis, Tenn. -- AutoZone on Monday reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $373.7 million from $347.8 million a year earlier. The chain also reported a milestone as its net income for the full year rose 7.7% to $1.1 billion.


The auto parts retailer’s revenue in the fourth quarter rose 3.4% to $3.05 billion in the period, up falling short of Street forecasts of $3.06 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.1%.

New York -- British supermarket retailer Tesco suspended four executives, including its U.K. managing director, after revealing that its half-year profit was overstated by $407 million, the BBC reported. The retailer has launched an investigation headed by Deloitte.

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis, who took over the struggling company in September, said the decision to ask employees to stand aside was not an indication of guilt or that disciplinary action was warranted. He declined to speculate on what the investigation might turn up.

Denver -- Junction Solutions was was recognized as the 2014 U.S. Microsoft Dynamics AX Retail Partner of the Year. The company was honored among the top Microsoft partners for demonstrating sales excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

Washington, D.C. -- The Washington, DC-based brokerage Cassidy Turley agreed to sell 100% of its equity interests to an affiliate of DTZ Investment Holdings, which is backed by a consortium of investors.

The deal is expected to fully close on Dec. 31, after the consortium acquires DTZ around Oct. 31

New York -- Shopzilla has changed its name to Connexity to highlight its recent transformation from comparison shopping to technology driven marketing solutions.

According to the company, its new solutions enable retailers and brands to understand their consumers better, acquire new customers at a lower cost and increase sales based on retail signals that it provides.

By Gary Lee, InReality

King of Prussia, Pa. – Online retailers are prioritizing immediate investments in customer-facing tactics such as price, marketing and customer service over strategic infrastructure for the 2014 holiday season. According to the 2014 Holiday Retail Audit, a U.S. survey of more than 1,000 ecommerce and marketing professionals from retailers with revenues of $5 million to $250 million conducted by EBay Enterprise, retailers identified a renewed focus in marketing efforts.

New York -- Nearly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. households plan to spend money on Halloween-related items, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey. The total for Halloween-related spending is expected to be approximately $11.3 billion in 2014.

Fort Worth, Texas – A class-action settlement RadioShack Corp. reached with consumers that offered them $10 vouchers as compensation for printing their credit and debit card expiration dates on receipts has reportedly been overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. According to Reuters, a panel of three federal judges said the total $1 million settlement is too small considering the amount of legal fees that must be paid.