News

Fourth quarter operating profits at Sear’s Holdings on an adjusted basis improved. 22% and same store sales at Sears flagship stores turned modestly positive.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Corporation reported fourth quarter diluted earnings per share of $1.66 compared with $1.81 for the fourth quarter of 2011. Net income for the fourth quarter was $378 million compared with $455 million a year ago. For the year, net income was $1 billion ($4.17 per diluted share) compared with $1.2 billion ($4.30 per diluted share) for fiscal 2011.

Total sales for the quarter were $6.3 billion, an increase of 5.4% over sales of $6 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales for the quarter were up 1.9%.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Coinstar, a self-service coin-counting machine operator, has added a new feature that enables consumers to conveniently and securely add coins and paper currency into or withdraw funds from their PayPal account, as well as send money to another PayPal account. The rollout began this month in Texas, Northern California and Ohio and will continue at select kiosks throughout the year.  

NEW YORK — Luxury fashion house J. Mendel has announced that Susan Sokol will step down as president and COO of the company, and will transition her duties over the coming weeks.

Sokol joined J. Mendel as president and COO in 2008. During her almost five year tenure at the company, Sokol was integral to the expansion of J. Mendel's ready-to-wear, which now accounts for 60% of its wholesale business, and to entering the brand into new international markets.

Specialty apparel retailer Chico’s reported strong fourth quarter results and announced plans to debut a new format and enter Canada in 2013.

The company said sales for the 14 week fourth quarter ended February 2, increased 14.5% to $652 million thanks to the inclusion of an extra week in the reporting period, a 3.7% same store sales increase and a net increase of 101 new stores that expanded selling space by 8.1%. The 3.7% comp increase is noteworthy because it came on top of an 8.7% comp increase during the fourth quarter the prior year.

Walmart said Tom Mars, EVP and chief administrative officer, will leave the company effective March 13.

Mars spent 11 years with the company and served as general counsel from 2002 to 2009 when he was promoted to his current role. In his current capacity, Mars was responsible for real estate, financial services for U.S. stores and company’s shows and events team and labor relations.

LARGO, Fla. — Coupon distributor Valpak took to Facebook last month to ask consumers to show what they love for the chance to win cash in the first ever Facebook promotion featured on the front of the Valpak envelope.

Since the "Show Us What You Love" Sweepstakes started last month, Valpak has had an overwhelming response. Photographs of adorable babies, furry puppies and sunny beaches filled with families – have been sent in through the Valpak Facebook contest.

NEW YORK — ShopKeep POS was presented with a Bronze Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year in the Computer Hardware, Services & Software category at the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Other finalists in this category included Rackspace Hosting and nFocus Solutions.

ShopKeep POS was founded in 2008 by Jason Richelson, a former multi-store retailer in NYC, whose keen eye for merchant pain points and needs has influenced how he has built every inch of the company.

NEW YORK — Macy’s has launched a new apparel collection inspired by, and named for, Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. The collection, created by LF USA and Authentic Brands Group, will infuse the actress unrivaled personality and retro styling into flirty and fun garments for the fashion-forward girl.

Amazon lead the pack in the retail field on Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies” list. The e-commerce juggernaut was third ranked overall (behind Apple and Google) for, among other reasons, its efficient customer service and leadership under CEO Jeff Bezos.

Nordstrom captured the number 16 spot for generating buzz for its first full-line retail store in Manhattan, well before its planned open date in 2018 and for its successful clearance brand, Nordstrom Rack.