News

In response to CVS Caremark's announcement to pull tobacco products out of its stores, Walgreens stated that the category has been under review at its stores, too.

Walgreens has been evaluating its tobacco line for “some time,” and, according to spokesperson Michael Polzin, it “will continue to evaluate the choice of products our customers want, while also helping to educate them and providing smoking cessation products and alternatives that help reduce the demand for tobacco products.”

As if the retail industry weren’t challenging enough, those operating stores in California are facing a growing number of lawsuits related to an operational consideration known as suitable seating.

Despite inclement weather this winter, Scotts Miracle-Gro’s financial results for the first quarter ended Dec. 28 showed signs of improvement.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $196.4 million, down 5% from $205.8 million during the same quarter a year ago. The company pointed to the timing of pre-season shipments to retailers for the decline.

CVSL is a growing group of micro-enterprise companies that connect social media networks into an ever-expanding virtual community of social commerce, and it has just named Richard Holt as VP of finance and controller.

Holt has for the past two and a half years served as CFO at Agel Enterprises, which became part of CVSL last September. He previously spent five years as corporate controller for Raser Technologies in Provo, Utah. During a previous stint at Agel, he was instrumental in the early stages of that company's development.  

Sionic Mobile, an m-commerce company that provides mobile gifting, payments and rewards, has added William Mills, CEO of William Mills Agency, to its advisory board of directors. Mills has more than 30 years of financial marketing and branding expertise.

Retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 4.1% in 2014, up from the preliminary 3.7% growth seen in 2013, according to the National Retail Federation. The association’s 2014 economic forecast calls for online sales to grow between 9% and 12%.

A number of factors contributed to NRF’s 2014 economic forecast, including:

Fairway Group Holdings' Herbert Ruetsch plans to retire after 15 years with the company, including the last two years as its CEO. Ruetsch will remain a special adviser to the company and continue to provide input into certain merchandising and product initiatives.

Digital coupon marketplace RetailMeNot said that its investments are paying off, following a strong performance in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013.

The company reported net revenues for the quarter of $78.5 million, an increase of 55% compared to $50.8 million the prior-year quarter. Organic net revenues, which exclude net revenues from acquired businesses not owned during both comparative periods, increased 50%.  

Deerfield Park, Ill. - Walgreens had January 2014 sales of $6.39 billion, an increase of 3.7% from $6.17 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013. Same-store sales grew 2.9%.

Calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.3 percentage point, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.9 percentage point. Walgreens opened 12 stores during January, including three relocations, and closed three.

Fremont, Calif. - Customers in the U.S. and around the world can now shop on the Men’s Wearhouse e-commerce site and ship directly to themselves or friends and family in more than 100 countries. Men's Wearhouse says it introduced international shipping in response to customer requests to do so.