News

Lynnwood, Wash. -- Action sports retailer Zumiez reported net income of $4.7 million for the quarter ended Aug. 3, compared with $2.1 million a year earlier. Sales surged 16.9% to $157.9 million, and same-store sales edged up 0.9%.

Small businesses have long been a core customer group at Sam’s Club, so much so that at one point the retailer’s tag line was, “in business for small business.” It makes sense then that Sam’s would invest in a program that promotes entrepreneurship and for that the nation should be thankful.

San Francisco – Gap reported same-store sales growth in its three global retail brands in August of this year that was significantly lower than in the same month last year. Gap global same-store sales rose 2% compared to 6% last year. At Banana Republic, same-store sales increased 2% compared to 8% last year, and Old Navy same-store sales grew 1% compared to 12% last year.

Net sales for the month were $1.23 billion, up 2.5% from net sales of $1.2 billion for the same month last year.

Shopper activity increased last month, in line with ShopperTrak’s predictions. Total retail store shopper traffic increased 11% this August compared to the previous month, which corresponds with recently reported positive month-over-month retail trends. In addition, shopper traffic for August 2013 increased slightly compared to the same month last year by 0.7%.

New York -- Accenture and SAP AG are jointly releasing a new application called the Marketing Performance Solution by Accenture and SAP. Sold by Accenture, the solution enables retail chief marketing officers (CMOs) view and act on centralized key marketing performance data such as sales figures, media spend and social reach in near real-time.

A survey of consumers conducted by the National Retail Federation and published in the trade group’s September issue of Stores placed Walmart second on a list of the nation’s favorite e-commerce retailers, an encouraging sign given the company’s efforts to drive digital growth.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot reportedly expects a continuing recovery in the U.S. housing market to improve its sales later this year. In an interview with Bloomberg, Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, Inc., said steady improvement in the housing market should lead to private equity firms and investors renovating properties for rental.

Puma’s outlet-store prototype is streamlined, sporty and contemporary looking, with strong brand cues. The store model is built around sustainability and flexibility. It features a “design by subtraction” concept that is based on a mobile fixture kit of interchangeable stock parts that yield 30% lower energy consumption. A lack of partition walls results in fewer materials, and enables the entire store to be reconfigured without the need for permanent construction or installations.