Best Buy Q4 comp sales +3.2% Press release   ...Reuters: Best Buy beats broader holiday season blues with strong online sales "Best Buy’s overall same-store sales rose 3.2% in (Q4), beating analysts’ average estimate of a 1.9% increase...Revenue rose 2.7% to $15.20 billion, also beating the estimate of $15.05 billion. The company’s domestic comparable online revenue increased 18.7% to $3.52 billion." Read more   JCPenney Q4 comp sales -7.0% (vs. expected -7.3%) Press release   ...CNBC: JCPenney expects sales declines to continue in 2020, more store closures ahead "Q4: Earnings per share: 13 cents, adjusted, vs. a loss of 6 [...]

  Lowe's Q4 comp sales +2.5% vs. +3.6% expected at CNBC. "...the company earned 94 cents per share, outpacing analyst estimates of 91 cents per share from Refinitiv. Revenue rose to $16.03 billion from $15.65 billion a year ago but was less than the $16.15 billion analysts had forecasted." Read more   TJX Q4 comp sales +6% vs. +3.03% expected  Marmaxx (U.S.) +6% / HomeGoods (U.S.) +5% / TJX Canada +4% / TJX Int'l +10% Press release   Walmart begins fulfilling orders for third-party vendors at CNBC. "New and current vendors can sign up for the service starting Tuesday, according to [...]

  Home Depot’s same-store sales surge in final quarter of 2019 at AP. "Sales at stores open at least a year rose 5.2%, which was also better than analysts had expected. Those sales climbed 5.3% in the U.S." Read more   Macy’s shares jump after earnings top estimates, helped by a last-minute holiday sales boost at CNBC. "Same-store sales: down 0.5%, on an owned plus licensed basis, vs. a drop of 0.9% expected." Read more   Tesco completes China exit with $357 million stake sale at Reuters. "Having struggled to crack the Chinese market, Tesco established the Gain Land venture [...]

  Sporting goods retailer Modell’s to close 24 stores: CEO at Fox Business. "Modell’s was founded in 1889...The company has been family-owned and had 141 stores prior to the recent closures." Read more   Sears snags new financial lifeline as losses continue, sources say at CNBC. "Sears has reached a deal for a fresh financial lifeline totaling roughly $100 million from hedge fund Brigade Capital Management, as it tries to stabilize after bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday." Read more   The Fortune 100 Happiness Index (Amazon #16, Best Buy #19, TJX #30, Costco #50, Home Depot [...]

  CORONAVIRUS IMPACT PRIME DAY?... When You Click Buy on Amazon, It May Be Sweating the Supply by Karen Weise & Michael Corkery at NY Times. "Over the past few weeks, Amazon has responded to the crisis by making larger and more frequent orders of Chinese-made products that had already been shipped to the United States...Amazon also sent an urgent email to brands on Wednesday about Prime Day...indicating that it has begun worrying about inventory for the event." Tiered subs.   ...Coronavirus: China’s manufacturing supply chain pummelled from all sides in efforts to restart at South China Morning Post. "...following [...]

  China turns to internet for food supplies amid virus fears at AP. "(Delivery drivers) work really hard, and it’s dangerous,” said Wang. “Without their services, we would not be able to survive at all.” JD.com Inc. and rivals including Pinduoduo, Missfresh Inc. and Alibaba Group’s Hema are scrambling to fill a boom in orders while trying to protect their employees." Read more   U.S. homebuilding fell less than expected in January while permits surged to a near 13-year high at Reuters. Read more   Bed Bath & Beyond Boss Tries to Declutter Stores by Suzanne Kapner at Wall Street Journal. [...]

  Walmart earnings and outlook fall short as holiday season disappoints at CNBC. "Same-store sales: up 1.9% in the U.S. vs. growth of 2.3% expected. “Sales leading up to Christmas in our U.S. stores were a little softer than expected,” CEO Doug McMillon said." Read more   ...Sam’s Club (comp sales) climbed just 0.8%, compared with growth of 3.4% a year earlier   Walmart employees say they’re preparing for job cuts as retailer rolls out its ‘Great Workplace’ program by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post. "Everyone’s on pins and needles right now,” said a customer service manager at a Neighborhood [...]

  US retail sales up a modest 0.3% in January at Fox Business. "Sales at furniture stores shot up 0.6%, rebounding from a 1.6% decline in December. Sales at hardware and other building supply stores surged 2.1%, building on a strong 1.3% gain in December. Sales at general merchandise stores...rose a solid 0.5% in January, up from a 0.4% December increase....department store category...show(ed) a tiny increase of 0.1% in January following a 0.6% decline in December." Read more   Kudlow: New tax cuts will 'probably come out sometime in September' at The Hill. Read more   Barneys New York to [...]