News

Demand forecasting, inventory allocation and replenishment — the unsung building blocks of every successful retail enterprise — have gained a new level of respect with retailers striving to deliver the omnichannel experience shoppers demand.

New York -- Shopko is leveraging social media to promote its expanded assortment of national brands. The retailer is holding an eight-week Facebook contest offering participants a chance to win prize packages associated with the featrued brands.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. posted strong sales for January and issued a fourth-quarter profit forecast that topped expectations.

The retailer said its same-store sales rose 1% in January. Analysts had expected a drop of 1.3%. Net sales for the four weeks that ended Feb. 1 were $899 million, compared with net sales of $1.13 billion for the five-week period ended Feb. 2, 2013.

For the fourth quarter, net sales were $4.58 billion, compared with $4.73 billion a year earlier.

New York -- Private equity firm KKR & Co. will acquire National Vision Inc. from Berkshire Partners.

National Vision, which focuses on low-cost glasses and contacts, operates more than 750 retail locations under names that include America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses and Eyeglass World. It also has stores inside Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Fred Meyer, and military bases.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The management team of National Vision is expected to remain a significant investor in the company, KKR said.

Sport Chek has opened a flagship in the largest shopping mall in North America: West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). The sporting goods retailer has woven interactive technology and digital installations throughout the 80,000-sq.-ft. space, which is designed to offer a personalized shopping experience that connects consumers to the sports they are passionate about.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly using image recognition technology to allow consumers to wave an iPhone in front of a product and automatically have it placed on their Amazon shopping list. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, this feature uses the iPhone’s built-in camera, eliminating the need for barcode or QR code scanning.

Brisbane, Calif. – Bebe Stores Inc. had a difficult second quarter of fiscal 2014, reporting a net loss of $5.5 million. Net sales declined 4.1% to $130 million, from $135.5 million reported for the second quarter a year ago. Same-store sales decreased 1.9%.

CEO Steve Birkhold acknowledged challenges, but cited sequential improvement in same-store sales and holiday sales, as well.

Nashville, Tenn. – Kirkland’s Inc. reported improved year-over-year net sales for the full fiscal year 2014 but a decrease in the fourth quarter. Net sales increased 2.7% to $460.6 million during fiscal 2014, compared with $448.4 million the prior fiscal year, while same-store sales rose 0.5%.

During the fourth quarter, net sales decreased 4.2% to $156.1 million, compared with $162.9 million in the previous fourth quarter. Same-store sales were flat.

San Diego - For the month of January 2014, net sales at PriceSmart increased 11.5% to $193.5 million from $173.5 million in January a year earlier. For the four weeks ended Jan. 26, 2014, same-store sales for the 30 warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 8.4%, compared to the same four-week period last year.

There were 32 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of January 2014, compared to 30 warehouse clubs in operation in January 2013.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor are offering True Fit’s fit personalization technology to consumers at TheBay.com and LordandTaylor.com. In less than 60 seconds, consumers can create a True Fit profile at either site, enabling them to get a personal fit rating and size recommendation for every style.