News

Williams-Sonoma loses steam in second quarter
Williams-Sonoma’s second quarter results may have met Wall Street expectations, but shares dropped nearly 12% as a result of the company’s weak guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 — which will include earnings from most of the back-to-school season.

For the quarter, the company posted net revenues of $1.04 billion, an almost 6% increase from $982 million a year ago. Total same-store sales increased 5.7%. Direct-to-customer revenues climbed 9.4%.
Former CEO buys Market Basket for $1.5 billion
Tewksbury, Mass. – In what should mark the end of a six-week standoff that began July 18, Arthur T. Demoulas, who was fired by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas as CEO of the Market Basket supermarket chain in June, has agreed to buy the company for $1.5 billion. Since Friday, July 18, many Market Basket employees and customers have staged a boycott, dramatically slowing down business at the company’s 71 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

POS Durability Supports Profit Durability

With all the attention being paid to mobile commerce, wearable technology and other cutting-edge developments in the world of retail IT, the in-store POS terminal is sometimes taken for granted.
Michaels looks to extend leadership in craft world

Roughly two months removed from an initial public stock offering, Michaels CEO Chuck Rubin said the company is on track to implement a multi-year strategic plan following the release of second quarter results that showed broad based sales strength and healthy margins.
IHL Forecast: 2015 retail IT spend to surpass $190 billion

Franklin, Tenn. -- The retail and hospitality market is entering a time of unprecedented IT growth for 2015, with overall spending expected to increase 5% over 2014 and surpass $190 billion worldwide, according to a new report by IHL, a global research and advisory firm specializing in technologies for the retail and hospitality industries.
Outside the Box Logistics

By definition, successful retailers are very good at logistics.

“Compared with other industries, retailers are a benchmark of logistical efficiency for moving items through their distribution channels and on to shelves in a timely way,” said Jim Griffin, senior VP sales, PODS, whose detached delivery system allows placement of containers in tough-to-reach and hard-to-fit locations.

Griffin spoke with Chain Store Age about how logistics efficiency can add to a retailer’s bottom line.

What are some of the most
Blank Label’s Brick-and-Mortar Leap

When Blanklabel.com launched in 2009, it set out to redefine notions of custom-tailored menswear, long the purview of the luxury market, by offering bespoke garments at affordable department store prices.

The startup took things a step further by updating the custom concept with a very 21st century, crowdsourcing twist: It offered shoppers a hand in the design of the merchandise by allowing them to pick their own details — from the cut of a shirt to the lining of a collar.

Blank Label is now bringing the disciplines it h
Guess Q2 earnings fall 50%, but online sales rise nearly 50%

Los Angeles -- Guess on Wednesday reported second-quarter net earnings of $22 million, a 50.5% decrease compared to adjusted net earnings of $44.3 million for the year ago period. The retailer, which also cuts its fiscal year outlet, noted that soft traffic and promotional activity have continued to put its North American stores under pressure.
Nine West Chats up Customers

For retailers looking to provide an optimal customer experience to harried holiday shoppers, live chat is more than a nice extra.

“Customer expectations today make live chat a necessity; more and more customers are demanding this channel to interact with brands since it’s a convenient and efficient means of getting assistance online,” said Milton Pappas, president of e-commerce for White Plains, New York-based Nine West Group, which operates 183 Nine West stores, 78 Easy Spirit stores and 88 JNY stores in the United States.

Shortly before the 2013 holiday period, Nine West
Keurig Green Mountain adds Coca-Cola exec to board

Keurig Green Mountain has appointed José Octavio Reyes Lagunes, retired vice chairman of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, to its board of directors.