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October 2, 2014 Home Depot is extending its e-commerce capabilities westward with the opening of a dedicated online fulfillment center in California. Located in Perris, California, the 858,953 sq. ft. facility will initially employ approximately 150 people, and eventually employ up to 300.  It is one of three new DFCs opening across the U.S. in... Read more »

October 7, 2014 Holiday sales are projected to grow at their fastest level in years, rising 4.1% to nearly $617 billion after a 3.1% increase last year. The bullish seasonal spending forecast follows an uneven sales performance at the beginning of the year and a 3.1% increase during the 2013 season.  Online holiday sales are... Read more »

October 6, 2014 The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) increased in September.  The index now stands at 121.68, up from 121.32 (an upward revision) in August.  This represents a 6.1 percent gain in the ETI compared to a year ago. “The Employment Trends Index increased for the ninth consecutive month, signaling solid job growth... Read more »

October 3, 2014 The economy generated a gain of 248,000 jobs in September, faster than the averge monthly over the past year, and revisions to July and August were very positive.  The slower gain initially reported for August now appears to have been simply an aberration.  The continued rapid drop in the unemployment rate increases... Read more »

October 3, 2014 According to the National Retail Federation’s calculations, retail industry employment increased by 35,500 jobs in September, with upward revisions for July and August.  Employment gains were seen in most retail categories with the exception of clothing and clothing accessories stores, which lost 3,000 jobs, and health and personal care stores, which lost... Read more »

October 2, 2014 Rite Aid reported $2 billion in sales for the four weeks ended September 27, representing a 4.5% increase over the comparable yer-ago period. Same-store sales increased 5.1% over the prior-year period, including a 2.3% lift in front-end same-store sales and growth of 6.3% in pharmacy and comparable sales.  Pharmacy same-store  sales included... Read more »

October 1, 2014 September posts a decline, following strong August gain. The STEM related categories continue to gain while other occupational groups show losses. Online advertised vacancies declined 137,200 to 5,072,000 in September, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today.  The August Supply/Demand rate stands at 1.84 unemployed for... Read more »

September 30, 2014 Walgreens posted fourth quarter sales of $19.1 billion, representing an increase of 6.2% compared to the year-ago period, while sales for the fiscal 2014 ended August 31 increased 5.8% to a record $76.4 billion. Front-end comparable store sales increased 1.3% in the fourth quarter compared with last year’s fourth quarter.  Customer traffic... Read more »

10/1/2014 New Orders, Employment and Production Growing; Inventories Growing; Supplier Deliveries Slowing Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September for the 16th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 64th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The report was issued today by... Read more »