News

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Wednesday posted third-quarter sales of $18.3 billion, up 3.3%.

Same-store sales were up 1.3%, with front-end comparable store sales up by 0.3% and pharmacy comp sales up 2%. Prescriptions filled were up 7% for the quarter.

Walgreens reported that more than 72 million Walgreens faithful have signed on for the company's Balance Rewards loyalty program through May.

Chicago -- During a morning keynote session on Wednesday at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, former Vice President and self-described “recovering politician” Al Gore related a couple of interesting facts about how the Internet is shaping modern commerce. First, he stated that when an online network increases in size its value increases by a squared amount, so that for example a network that doubles its number of users quadruples in value.

New York -- Specialty retailer Vera Bradley has helped boost the revenue and margins generated by its recently launched line of baby accessories by obtaining advance insight from consumers about what they would pay for certain products and also what features most interested them.

Hampstead, Md. -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers’ net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 fell 45% to $8.1 million, down from $14.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Total sales for the first quarter decreased 2.6% to $196.1 million from $201.4 million in year-ago period.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation has launched Retail Jobs powered by NRF, a recruiting and search tool developed specifically for retailers and job seekers.

The job board will serve as a fundamental part of NRF’s This Is Retail: Careers, Community, Innovation campaign, launched in April.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens reported sales of $18.3 billion for the third quarter, up 3.3%. Same-store sales increased 1.3%, with front-end comparable store sales up by 0.3% and pharmacy comp sales up 2%. Prescriptions filled were up 7% for the quarter.

Sales of Walgreens' shares were up $1 to $49.03 in early-morning trading.

Walgreens reported that more than 72 million Walgreens faithful have signed on for the company's Balance Rewards loyalty program through May. 

SAN DIEGO — Pet specialty retailer Petco is launching a campaign to teach children how to safely approach and interact with dogs. The educative measure aims to lower dog-bite statistics, which drives traffic into its brick-and-mortar stores.

Petco certified dog trainers recommend that children follow the SAFE method, which is explained as follows: 

S: Stop, stand still and turn sideways before getting close to the dog.

Online marketplace Rakuten Inc. has acquired Webgistix, a Las Vegas-based logistics and services company specializing in cloud-based fulfillment technology for e-commerce retailers. The acquisition is Rakuten’s second logistics investment outside of Japan and its first in the Americas. 

NEW YORK — Golfsmith International plans to open its first specialty golf store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. By positioning its interactive store in the heart of the Big Apple, Golfsmith will reach both New York area golfers as well as tourists visiting the city from around the world.

To mark the store opening, the golf retailer has scheduled a number of activities from Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9, including $50,000 in cash giveaways, golf clinics from instructor Hank Haney and more than $7,500 in prizes.

CHICAGO, Ill. — Mercent, a leading technology company that enables retailers to reach and convert more shoppers online, has signed a strategic partnership with Shop.com, the e-commerce arm of Market America. 

This latest partnership expands Mercent’s portfolio of online shopping destinations supported by its SaaS platform and offers leading retailers the ability to market and sell to millions of consumers on the Shop.com third-party marketplace.