Walmart Thinking Big With Small Formats Amid Soft Sales

February 20, 2014 Walmart knew fourth quarter results announced Thursday morning were going to be bad and its outlook weak, so it gave investors something more substantial to digest by announcing plans to double the number of small format stores it will open this year and an increased omnichannel focus. Just four months after announcing… Read more »

More Consumers Will Hold Onto Those Tax Refunds

February 19, 2014 More Americans this year are expected to put their tax returns in the bank.  According to the National Retail Federation’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 46% of those expecting a refund this year will put their money into savings, up from 44% last year and the highest percent… Read more »

Lowe’s Gears Up For Its Busiest Season

February 19, 2014 A week after rival Home Depot announced plans to hire 80,000 seasonal spring employees, Lowe’s announced its plans to hire approximately 25,000 seasonal employees at its U.S. stores for the busy spring season. Seasonal jobs available are focused on customer support and include cashiers, lawn and garden employees, loaders and stockers. The… Read more »

Ace Enjoys Record Year

February 19, 2014 Ace Hardware’s unique value proposition allowed it to withstand strong competition from Home Depot and Lowe’s in 2013 and grow annual sales by 8.2% to a record $4.2 billion. “We outperformed our operating plan, exceeding $4 billion in consolidated revenues and $100 million in net income for the first time in our… Read more »

Poor Weather Puts A Damper On Builder Confidence In February

February 18, 2014 Unusually severe weather conditions across much of the nation along with continued concerns over the cost and availability of labor and lots caused builder confidence in the market for newly-built, single-family homes to post a 10-point drop to 46 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, released today.… Read more »

NRF Calls For Immediate Adoption Of Chip-And-PIN Tech

February 12, 2014 At a press conference this week, the National Retail Federation called for widespread adoption of chip-and-PIN payment card technology by U.S. retailers and their partners. “The chip validates that it’s the real card,” said Tom Litchford, VP retail technologies for NRF.  “The PIN provides two levels of validation.” Litchford said that while… Read more »

Home Depot Prepares For Its Busiest Season

February 12, 2014 Against the backdrop of a growing national debate over the minimum wage and part-time versus full-time workers, Home Depot has begun a huge seasonal hiring surge in preparation for spring. The nation’s largest home improvement retailer said it planned to hire approximately 80,000 seasonal employees, many of whom are part-time, the same… Read more »

January Retail Sales Take A Hit From Mother Nature

February 13, 2014 Consumers leveled off post-holiday shopping ans spending in the beginning of the year due in part to severe winter weather in much of the country.  According to the National Retail Federation, January 2014 retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were flat seasonally adjusted month-to-month, yet increased 3% unadjusted year-over-year. January… Read more »