News

AutoZone has elected Linda A. Goodspeed to its board of directors. Goodspeed is SVPand chief information officer (CIO) of The ServiceMaster Company, a position she has held since 2011.

"Linda's extensive background in information technology and the automotive industry will complement and enhance the collective skills of our Board," said Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO. "We are fortunate to have her as a new board member."

Prior to joining The ServiceMaster Company, Goodspeed was VP information systems for Nissan North America.

Austin, Texas -- Online coupon site RetailMeNot.com reported Thursday that men outspend women by more than $120 on Valentine’s Day gift giving.

According to the just-released results of the Valentine edition of RetailMeNot.com’s Shoppers Trend Report, the average person in a relationship plans to spend $226 for Valentine’s Day this year; the break-out is dominated by men, however, as they plan to spend $287 versus women at $164.

City of Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Dec. 29 rose 6.5% to $51 million, compared with $47.9 million in the year-ago period.

Total sales increased 8.8% to $35.6 million, from $403.9 million last year. Same-store sales rose 4.3%.

The company said it plans to open six stores during the fourth quarter, with most slated to open in California.
 

Denton, Texas -- Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. reported Thursday that profit in the first quarter nearly doubled year-over-year – from $30.1 million to $59 million – but results still missed Wall Street expectations.

Revenue rose 4.7% to $905.4 million, shy of analysts’ expected $915.1 million in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 2.8%.

Reston, Va. -- A report released Thursday by comScore found that retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. rose to $186.2 billion in 2012, an increase of 15% and the strongest annual growth rate since before the recession.

Fourth quarter 2012 sales grew 14% year-over-year to $56.8 billion, marking the first-ever $50 billion quarter. It also represents the 13th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
 

New York -- There were few missteps among the discounters in January, as most posted strong results, many surpassing Wall Street expectations.

Target reported a same-store sales rise of 3.1%, topping Wall Street expectations. Total sales surged 29.6% to $5.97 billion in January.

New York -- Department store retailers reported strong sales in January as shoppers responded positively to post-holiday clearance events.  

Overall, the 20 retailers reporting January comps saw an average rise of 5.1%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which beat the mall trade group’s 3% forecasted rise.

New York -- Although there were some surprising gains among retailers in January, for the most part results were expectedly mixed, as consumers took a hit on their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes but cooler weather gave a boost to others.

In case you missed it, one of America’s biggest and most iconic brands was in the news recently for something other than the latest sales figures: Wal-Mart announced an ambitious plan to hire approximately 100,000 veterans over the next five years.

The Dr Pepper Snapple Group is looking to build on the success of last year’s introduction of Dr Pepper TEN by extending the low calorie franchise to its other leading brands.