News

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. — The Wet Seal reported that net sales for the fourth quarter were $161.7 million compared with net sales of $163.2 million for the 13-week fourth quarter in fiscal 2011.

Consolidated comparable-store sales declined 8.3%, including a comparable-store sales decline of 9.1% at Wet Seal and 3.1% at Arden B. 

Net loss was $85.8 million, or 97 cents per diluted share, as compared with net income of $1.1 million, or 1 cent per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. 

The recent announcement that retail giant Walmart plans to open more than 100 of the brand’s Neighborhood Market stores in 2013, and as many as 500 Neighborhood Market locations over the next few years, has industry analysts and observers talking. They have my attention, as well.

BOSTON — PYMNTS.com, a news website serving the payments industry, released its list of winners for the 2013 PYMNTS Innovator Awards. Winners were chosen across sixteen categories by a panel of judges with deep and practical expertise in payments and payments innovation. The top finalists in each category were given an award at the PYMNTS.com Innovator Awards Dinner held this year on March 21 at Annenberg Hall on the Harvard University Campus as part of The Innovation Project. B.J.

New York -- New York & Company reported net income for the fourth quarter of $10.5 million, compared with a net loss in the prior year fourth quarter of $10.9 million.

Net sales for the quarter were $291.8 million, up from $271.8 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 2.3%.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu announced that Janel Haugarth who will remain with the company as EVP and president of independent business and supply chain services. The announcement comes as Sam Duncan, Supervalu president and chief executive officer, continues finalizing his leadership team following the sale of five retail banners to AB Acquisition LLC, a transaction that was completed on March 21.

Sam’s Club this week opened a new 136,000-sq.-ft. club adjacent to a Walmart supercenter in La Marque, Texas.

The club, built in 1991, was relocated from neighboring Texas City. The communities are located along I-45 southeast of Houston en route to the coastal community of Galveston. The new club, Sam’s first of the year, is one of an expected 15 to 20 new units this year that mark Sam’s most aggressive expansion in roughly a decade. Sam’s ended last year with 620 clubs and sales of $56.4 billion.

NEW YORK — More than half of consumers believe that apps are not expensive, according to a new survey by consulting firm Simon-Kucher & Partners. 

“It takes a long time to upgrade free users to the paid product and app makers need to strike a better balance between free and paid offerings. It needs more time and management attention to get right.”

Allow me to be the group historian for a minute. Does anyone remember, in 1984, the "Crafted with Pride in the U.S.A." advertising campaign, spearheaded by the late Roger Milliken, and funded by a consortium of fiber, chemical and textile companies? This was supposed to have instilled enough patriotism in the consumer to buy goods made in America at a furious enough rate to keep manufacturing here on our soil.