Retail Stores
October 31, 2011
Amazon’s Kindle Fire may corner the market for e-books and movies and television shows on a mobile device, but GameStop sees a future in mobile cloud gaming. The retailer has rolled out its own “certified gaming tablet” to 200 select stores and on its website this weekend.
October 31, 2011
Macy's says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight following Thanksgiving for the first time, becoming the latest retailer to extend hours on the traditional kickoff to the holiday season. The opening is four hours earlier than last year. The Macy's stores, which number more than 800, will stay open for 23 hours straight and close at 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
October 31, 2011
With Black Friday still weeks away, roughly 39 percent of Americans have already started their holiday shopping, according to the National Retail Federation. This is almost two percentage points more than last year, which is a big jump for a statistic that usually shifts a few tenths of a point a year.
October 28, 2011
Outdoor retailer Cabela’s reported that profit for the third quarter surged 68.7 percent to $33.3 million, compared with $19.7 million in the year-ago period. Results surpassed analysts’ expectations and mark the third straight quarter of profit rises.
October 28, 2011
Neiman Marcus announced that it's entered into agreements with Visa and MasterCard to begin, effective Nov. 1, accepting MasterCard and Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards at all 41 Neiman Marcus stores.
October 28, 2011
OfficeMax reported that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 24 rose to $21.5 million, compared with $20 million in the year-ago period. Sales dipped 2.1 percent to $1.77 billion from $1.81 billion, barely meeting Wall Street’s expected $1.807 billion.
October 27, 2011
Books-A-Million, which has been taking over the leases of former Borders locations, will transform 41 of the sites into Books-A-Million stores in early November. Most of the locations across the nation represent new markets for the bookseller.
October 27, 2011
Vitamin Shoppe reported that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 24 rose to $11.9 million compared with $7.2 million for the same period last year. Sales increased 11.5 percent to $208.9 million from $187.4 million last year.
October 27, 2011
Whether same-store sales are up or down, analysts and other stakeholders want to know what drove results. If you've listened in on an earnings call for a major retailer lately, undoubtedly you've heard the question, "Was it ticket or traffic?"
October 26, 2011
In a rare interview, TJX CEO Carol Meyrowitz explained how conventional wisdom is wrong when it comes to T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. Meyrowitz says 85 percent of what the stores sell is from the same season and same year it was designed for, and 85 percent is purchased directly from manufacturers. Much is identical to what the brands sell in department stores, she insists.
