Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 4/11/13: Cold March Chills Sales; Costco Misses
“Costco March same-store sales miss expectations” at Reuters. “Warehouse club chain Costco Wholesale Corp reported a 4 percent rise in March sales at stores open at least a year, missing analysts’ expectations, due to lower fuel prices and a strong dollar, which hurt the value of its sales overseas.” Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/us-costco-results-idUSBRE93A06F20130411
“Retail Sales Broadly Miss Estimates During Cold March” at Reuters via CNBC. “So far, 63 percent of retailers who reported results fell short of Wall Street’s estimates for sales at stores open at least a year, a key industry metric, according to the Thomson Reuters same-sales index, released Thursday. Excluding Walgreen and Rite Aid, whose results are heavily skewed by prescription drug sales, forecasters were expecting a jump in same-store sales of 2.2 percent, slowing from the blistering pace of 7.1 percent in March of last year.” Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/id/100633622
“Walmart: Traditional Media Alive and Well” by Carol Angrisani at Supermarket News. ““You can’t be all-digital,” Tony Rogers, Walmart’s senior vice president of marketing, said yesterday in a session at the Shopper Marketing Summit. Not everyone is able to, or wants to, be wired 24/7, so traditional media is still a vital marketing component, said Rogers. At Walmart, for instance, TV and print still do very well, said Rogers. “You have to blend your media,” he said.” Read more: https://supermarketnews.com/marketing/walmart-traditional-media-alive-and-well#ixzz2Q9YJe3Zh
“Slow Tax Refunds, Weather Woes Hit Family Dollar Stores” at 24/7 Wall Street. “The company’s CEO said: “Following a difficult December, we were pleased with our sales results in early January. Unfortunately, the unanticipated delay of the 2012 tax refunds impacted our results at the end of January and the beginning of February. We were happy to see sales trends improve towards the end of the quarter as our customers began to receive their tax refunds. As we move into the second half of fiscal 2013.” Read more: https://247wallst.com/2013/04/10/slow-tax-refunds-weather-woes-hit-family-dollar-stores/#ixzz2Q9dBYtiH
“Wal-Mart executive who called sales “total disaster” has left” at Reuters. “Jerry Murray, the mid-level Wal-Mart Stores Inc executive who called the chain’s early February sales “a total disaster” in an email made public by Bloomberg, left the world’s largest retailer last week, Wal-Mart confirmed on Wednesday.” Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/walmart-employee-departure-idUSL2N0CX1QV20130410
“Walmart exec: Our biggest mobile opportunity is connecting with in-store customers” by Rimma Kats at Mobile Commerce Daily. ““There are key ingredients that bring our vision to life,” Ms. Bergh said. “It’s a combination of mobile talent, store operations, store systems, marketing and online services. “Our plan is to create products that people love,” she said. “We want to innovate without reinventing the wheel.“Customers will love and have more loyalty to Walmart overtime thanks to the experiences we’re delivering to them.” Read more: https://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/walmart-exec-our-biggest-mobile-opportunity-is-connecting-with-in-store-customers
“Target to Celebrate Earth Day with Giveaway of 1.5 Million Reusable Bags” “In honor of Earth Day, Target will give away 1.5 million reusable bags at stores across the country, as well as sustainable product coupon books that offer over $40 in savings. Of the 1.5 million reusable bags, 250,000 will also contain samples of sustainable products, including method Dish Soap, Annie’s Bunny Grahams, Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent and Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Cream.” Read more: https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130410005420&div=-1245645151
“Bed Bath & Beyond 4Q Net Jumps In-Line 14%, Outlook Trails Views” by Matt Egan at Fox Business. “Net sales soared 24.5% to $3.40 billion, also largely matching the Street’s view of $3.39 billion. Same-store sales rose by a more modest 2.5%. Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/04/10/bed-bath-beyond-4q-net-jumps-in-line-14-outlook-trails-views/#ixzz2Q9cWXPH1
“Sears Holdings Establishes New Business Unit Focused on Entertainment-Driven Fashion Brands” “Sears Holdings announces the creation of a new business unit called SHOP YOUR WAY Brands, focused exclusively on the development of entertainment-driven fashion and lifestyle brands. Leading this business unit is Bernt Ullmann and his team from Star Branding, whose partners include Tommy Hilfiger, Andy Hilfiger, and Joe Lamastra. The business unit will be initially focused on the powerful new collections by Adam Levine and Nicki Minaj” Read more: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6633685&access=EH
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