JCPenney Q4 comp sales -4.0 (vs. forecasted -4.3%) / Will close 24 more stores Press release   ...JCPenney names Michelle Wlazlo chief merchant "Most recently she served as senior vice president of apparel and accessories merchandising at Target Corporation." Press release   ...JCPenney pulls plug on clothing subscription service by Melissa Fares at Reuters. "In December 2017, the department store chain announced a new service through a partnership with Bombfell.com that offered Penney private label and national men’s clothing brands to people who signed up for regular apparel shipments." Read more   L Brands plans to close roughly 53 [...]

  Lowe's Q4 comp sales +1.7% (vs. expected +2.1%) / US +2.4% Press release   ...CNBC: Lowe’s shares dip as sales fall short of Wall Street expectations "We anticipate continued weakness in the Canadian housing market in the near-term, but remain confident in our market position in Canada and the long-term potential of that business,” Ellison said." Read more   Best Buy Q4 comp sales +3.0% (vs. expected +2.03%) Press release   ...Reuters: Best Buy holiday-quarter sales beat estimates; shares surge "The company said domestic online revenue rose 9.3 percent to $2.96 billion in the fourth quarter, primarily due to higher conversion [...]

  Home Depot Q4 comp sales +3.2% / US +3.7% (vs. +4.5% forecast) Press release   ...Reuters: Home Depot profit outlook disappoints "We believe that wet weather was a major factor that impacted growth (exterior projects),” Credit Suisse analyst Seth Sigman said...Still, the company expects same-store sales to rise 5 percent this year, above the 4.45 percent increase analysts were expecting." Read more   Macy's Q4 comp sales +0.7% (vs. +0.9% forecast) at CNBC. "Macy’s is targeting $100 million in annual cost savings, starting in fiscal 2019, with its restructuring plan. It said part of this plan consists of reorganizing upper management, [...]

  How U.S. retailers turn their bane into boon with 'click and collect' at Reuters. "According to retail research and consulting firm GlobalData Retail, store pickups accounted for nearly a third of U.S. online sales last November and December. That compares with about 22 percent a year earlier and just over 17 percent during the 2016 holiday season." Read more   Target is inviting retailers to its website by Lauren Thomas at CNBC. "It says it’s planning to partner with companies in certain categories, like sporting goods and toys, where it’s seeing high shopper demand...Chief Digital Officer Rick Gomez: “This [...]

  Hasbro, Lego launch online services in Toys ‘R’ Us’ absence by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. "We are rethinking the way we go to market,” Scott Stroud, Hasbro’s vice president of e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses, told The Post. “We have the ability to provide the quality, access and make sure that this is the premier way to buy” Hasbro products, he said." Read more   Several companies have suspended advertising on YouTube, including Nestle, Epic, and reportedly Disney and McDonald’s by Catherine Shu at TechCrunch. "YouTube creator Matt Watson posted a video and in-depth Reddit post describing how pedophiles are able to manipulate [...]

  CVS shares drop on mixed results, disappointing forecast "For the full year of 2019, CVS forecasts adjusted earnings between $6.68 and $6.88 per share, below the $7.41 per share analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected." Read more | Press release   Companies were boxed off to avoid spies at this year’s Toy Fair by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. "Veterans of the annual show, which attracts some 1,200 toy companies, say this year’s event appeared to have the most closed booths ever. “We were among the only closed booths about a decade ago,” said Lego spokesman Michael McNally. “But [...]

  Walmart Q4 comp sales +4.2% in U.S (vs. +3.2% expected) at CNBC. "Online sales were up 43 percent during the fourth quarter, matching growth during the previous quarter. Walmart said that, for the year, it achieved e-commerce sales growth of 40 percent, which it had been targeting." Read more   Payless ShoeSource plans to close all of its about 2,500 locations in the U.S. and Canada by Nathan Bomey at USA Today. "Some stores will be closed by the end of March, while "many" will remain open through the end of May...Payless locations in about three dozen other countries, including 420 [...]

  US retail sales suffer steepest drop in nine years by Sylvan Lane at The Hill. "Advance estimates of December 2018 retail and food services sales...fell 1.2 percent from the previous month, to $505.8 billion, according to the Census Bureau." Read more   Alibaba in talks on stake in China operations of Germany's Metro at Reuters. "The talks are at an early stage and could still fall apart, the sources said. Alibaba’s interest comes after rival Tencent last year signed a partnership deal with France’s Carrefour." Read more   Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Wegmans #3, Publix #12, REI [...]