News

Leslie's takes plunge with Phoenix prototype
The nation’s largest retailer of swimming pool supplies and equipment continued its march toward 1,000 units this month with five new locations in Florida and a new prototype near its Phoenix headquarters.

The privately held Leslie’s Poolmart chain opened four locations in Jacksonville and one in nearby St. Augustine, bringing its store count in Florida to 90 locations, or 10% of the company’s total store base of roughly 900 locations.
Study: Consumers can’t get satisfaction
Ann Arbor, Mich. – It probably takes less to satisfy the average consumer than it does to satisfy Mick Jagger, but even still, consumers can’t seem to get any satisfaction these days. According to new data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the national level of customer satisfaction dropped 0.5% to 75.2 in fourth quarter 2014.

H&M posts 36% profit jump as it plans global expansion

Swedish retailer H&M, which has already made huge waves in the United States, is now eyeing even more global omnichannel expansion.

The company is planning to open 400 new physical stores, a new flagship in New York City’s Herald Square, and at least nine new online stores.

The retailer also reported results for the first quarter ended Feb. 28. H&M reported that net profit climbed 36% to 3.61 billion kronor ($423.2 million), versus a year-ago profit of 2.65 billion kronor ($311.9 million). Analysts were expecting a profit of 3.37 billion kronor.
H&M opening 400 stores in 2015 amid 36% jump in Q1 profit

New York -- Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) on Tuesday posted a 36% jump in its first quarter profit, easily beating forecasts, and confirmed earlier reports that it plans to open 400 stores in its current fiscal year, with most of the locations in China and the United States. In New York, it will open a 61,000-sq.-ft. flagship — one of the largest H&Ms to date — in Manhattan’s Herald Square area.
Largest IKEA ever planned for Burbank

IKEA plans to open a store of truly epic proportions on a 22 acre site in Burbank, Calif., that will require the home furnishing retailer first demolish 19 existing structures.
Five Actions To Take Immediately After a Cyber Attack

By Todd Weller, Hexis Cyber Solutions

For retailers, it’s now no longer a matter of “if” you will be compromised by a cyberattack, but “when” you will be. But they can mitigate the impact of attacks now and in the future by preparing a response plan with policy-based automation.
Ross Stores to split stock in June

Off-price retailer Ross Stores feels so good about its sales performance and outlook that it has approved a 2-for-1 stock split scheduled for June.

The company said the split will be paid in the form of a 100% stock dividend to stockholders of record as of April 22.

Ross Stores had fiscal 2014 revenue of $11 billion.
Home Depot prepares for spring

It’s the busiest time of year for the Home Depot and this cool time lapse video from store 116 in Woodstock, Ga., shows the considerable effort that goes into resetting the retailer’s indoor seasonal department.
Survey: Supermarkets, H-E-B earn consumer trust

Waban, Mass. – Supermarket chain H-E-B is the most trusted chain in the most trusted niche of retail. H-E-B took the top spot in the 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings, which measured the trust of 10,000 U.S. consumers across 293 companies in 20 industries.
Revolve connects customer experience dots with OrderDynamics

New York – Online specialty fashion retailer Revolve focuses heavily on customer experience to stay competitive in a tough market. Revolve has selected Dynamic Action, the Big Data and decision intelligence Application from OrderDynamics, to connect the “critical dots” such as: item level exposure, loyal customers’ return rates, competitive pricing and optimal inventory levels.