H&M shares surge as turnaround gathers pace by Dominic Chopping at MarketWatch. "The Swedish company posted a net profit of 803 million Swedish kronor ($86.4 million) for the quarter ended Feb. 28...beat an analyst forecast by FactSet that pointed to a profit of SEK525 million." Read more   Dollarama Q4 comp sales +2.6% Press release   RH Q4 net revenue flat (vs. +14% LY) Press release   Netflix Ranked as No. 1 Fastest-Growing U.S. Brand in 2019 at Brand Finance via Variety. "After Netflix, other companies that saw the biggest brand-value gains from 2018-19 on Brand Finance’s study were [...]

  Five Below Q4 comp sales +4.4% Press release   Instacart rolls out an Instant Cashout feature for shoppers by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. "Previously, workers would have to wait a week to get paid. With Instant Cashout, they can instead opt to have their pay immediately transferred to a debit card." Read more   Sportsman's Warehouse Q4 net sales -0.2% Press release   Amazon says it will bring 800 new tech jobs to Austin at CNBC. "The new employees will join the more than 6,600 workers Amazon already has in the Austin area, which already includes over 1,000 corporate-level [...]

  Ollie's Bargain Outlet Q4 comp sales +5.4% "Fiscal 2019 outlook: Opening 42 to 44 new stores, with no planned relocations or closures." Press release   Top 50 large and small companies that have the brightest futures at Comparably.com via USA Today. "Costco #7, Home Depot #21, Amazon #32." Ranked lists   Shoe Carnival Q4 comp sales +4.7% Press release   Food Lion and five sister U.S. grocery chains will use AI for food suppliers by Jennifer Smith at Wall Street Journal. "The technology provides “one logical view of inventory across the brands,” allowing buyers to aggregate demand across thousands of [...]

  Activists at Bed Bath & Beyond are trying to replace its entire 12-person board - stock soars 20% at CNBC. Read more   Dick's to develop software in house by Sara Castlellanos at Wall Street Journal. "CTO Paul Gaffney is spearheading the effort after taking a similar approach at his previous employer, Home Depot. “In a lot of retail, there’s been a tradition that tools were designed at headquarters and inflicted on the store [employees]. We’ve been trying to turn that around,” said Mr. Gaffney, who joined Dick’s in late 2017." WSJ subs.   Lenders give Neiman Marcus three [...]

  Tiffany Q4 comp sales -1.0% (vs. estimated +0.8%) Press release   ...CNBC: Tiffany shares fall as holiday-quarter sales miss expectations "Tiffany has typically been reliant on Chinese shoppers to boost sales. But uncertain and ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China have posed a larger threat..." Read more   Subtle changes are coming to Lowe’s stores by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. "The whole effort here is about letting product be king. It’s not about a bunch of fluffy fixtures, but more about how you can simplify it, make it easier for them to shop, both on the pro [...]

  Customers outraged at Walmart for ending Savings Catcher price-matching program by Doreen Christensen at South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "...(Walmart) will end the Savings Catcher program on May 14....One Twitter user disputed Walmart’s claim, saying he saved more than $900 since joining the program, and using the hashtag #BoycottWalmart." Read more   Eby-Brown to be bought by Performance Food Group at Crain's Chicago Business. "Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eby-Brown co-presidents Dick and Tom Wake and current management will continue to run the company, according to a representative." Tiered subs.   Ford Explorer Owners Say Their SUVs Are Making [...]

  Michaels Q4 comp sales -0.4% "On a calendar shifted basis, comparable store sales increased 1.4%...For fiscal 2019, the Company expects comparable store sales to increase between 0% and 1%." Press release   HD Supply Q4 organic sales growth +7.4% Press release   DSW Q4 U.S. comp sales +5.3% "For the fifty-two week period, comparable sales increased by 6.1% compared to last year's 0.4% decrease." Press release   StarKist Reaches Tuna Price-Fixing Settlement With Kroger & 32 Other Retailers by Maria Armental at Wall Street Journal. "Financial terms weren’t disclosed...The Walmart settlement was worth $20.5 million, based on a combination [...]

  Kroger ends its unmanned-vehicle grocery delivery pilot program in Arizona by Russ Wiles at Arizona Republic via USA Today. "The companies now will start the next phase of the program — an autonomous-vehicle delivery service at two Kroger stores in Houston that will reach customers in four ZIP codes there." Read more   Lumber Liquidators Q4 comp sales +0.4% Press release   Former Sears CEO says he tried to forge a deal with Home Depot & Best Buy by Suzanne Kapner at Wall Street Journal. "Arthur Martinez: 'Best Buy’s expectations were so high that there was no favorable return [...]