News

Severe winter weather was unable to put a damper Walgreens’ February sales and overall second-quarter results for the period ended Feb. 28.

The company reported February sales of $6.1 billion, an increase of 5% percent compared to the same month in fiscal 2013. Total sales for the quarter were $19.6 billion, up 5.2%.

Weis Markets cited a shortened holiday season among the reasons for a decline in fourth quarter and year-to-date sales.

The company reported $686.4 million in fourth-quarter sales for the 13-week period ended Dec. 28, 2013, representing a decline of 1.1% as compared to the year-ago period. Comparable store sales for the same period were down 3.5%.

In 2013, the company's sales totaled $2.7 billion, down 0.3% compared to 2012. Comparable store sales for the 52-week period ending Dec. 28 declined 2.6%.

Revlon said fourth quarter sales increased 28%, thanks to the inclusion of sales at The Colomer Group, which it acquired in October.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $491 million, up 28% compared with $383.5 million in the year-ago period. On a foreign currency fluctuations or XFX basis, total net sales rose 31.2%, benefiting from the inclusion of $116.8 million of net sales related to the Professional segment beginning on The Colomer Group acquisition date. Excluding the acquisition, total net sales rose 0.7% on an XFX basis.

Saturday Night Live alum and “Parks and Recreation” star Amy Poehler will appear in commercials for Old Navy following last year’s involvement with Best Buy.

Ad Age is reporting that along with starring in the commercials, Poehler will help write and direct them. The first ad, said Ad Age, features Poehler as an executive at a law firm interviewing a job candidate but getting distracted by the woman's outfit from Old Navy.

Ongoing efforts to bolster cyber security at Target will take place under the leadership of an interim chief information officer and several other key positions the company is looking to fill with external candidates.

Earlier this week, Target confirmed that EVP and CIO Beth Jacob has resigned her position and in a statement provided to Retailing Today from Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel made it clear the company is intent on elevating its technology capabilities following last December’s data breach.

Connecting brands with influential voices via social media is the premise on which Collective Bias was founded. This week the firm strengthened that proposition with several new initiatives to increase the effectiveness of brand’s social shopper marketing efforts.

The next two years will see Kroger elevate the level of competition in north Texas with an ambitious investment program that comes as Walmart accelerates expansion of its smaller format stores.

Calgon is gearing up for spring with new scents, beauty bar soap products, revamped packaging and a new ad campaign.
 
"We are updating Calgon in formula and design in a way that we believe will help to modernize the iconic brand, while keeping the same attributes that women love about Calgon," said Madeline Blaize, director of marketing of Parfums de Coeur. "It is important to us to offer the consumer the latest trends in beauty care while staying true to the authenticity of the 60-year-old brand."

Uniqlo has enlisted musician and music producer Pharrell Williams as a collaborator and spokesperson for the UT 2014 spring-summer collection. Launched in 2003, Uniqlo’s UT T-shirt brand is getting a fresh start this year, as “The New Model T,” a collection produced by its creative director and street fashion icon Nigo.

The National Retail Federation has issued a statement for a hearing on data security being held by the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, reiterating the retail industry’s commitment to protecting Americans’ financial information.