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NRF Revises Annual Economic Forecast, Expects Stronger Second Half Of Year
23 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 23, 2014 The National Retail Federation today lowered its retail sales forecast for 2014 because of slow growth recorded during the first half of the year, but said sales are expected to grow significantly faster over the next five months. NRF forecasted in January that retail sales would grow 4.1 percent in 2014 over... Read more »
Back-To-School/College Spending Shows Slight Year-Over-Year Improvement
22 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 17, 2014 Families this summer will spend slightly more on back-to-school items than they did in 2013. According to NRF’s 2014 Back-to-School Survey, the average family with children in grades K-12 will spend $669.28 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, up 5% from $634.78 in 2013. NRF broke out spending by grade, and according... Read more »
July Busy Month For Sam’s Club
21 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 17, 2014 Sam’s Club opened three new locations this month including locations near Chicago, Fort Worth and Wichita, Kansas, that pushed its club count to 630 units. The Wichita location at 3084 N. Maize Road opened on July 17 and provided Sam’s with an opportunity to remind current and prospective members of its value... Read more »
South Pushes Nationwide Housing Starts Down 9.3 Percent In June
17 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 17, 2014 Nationwide housing production fell 9.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 893,000 units in June, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The drop was due primarily to a nearly 30 percent decline in the South. All other... Read more »
NRF: Electronics, School Supplies Drive Increased Back-To-School/College Spending This Year
17 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 17, 2014 Driven by increased demand for electronic items and parent’s need to restock their children’s school supplies from last year, families this summer will spend slightly more on back-to-school items than last year. According to NRF’s 2014 Back-to-School Survey, the average family with children in grades K-12 will spend $669.28 on apparel, shoes,... Read more »
CVS Acquires Navarro In South Florida
16 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 14, 2014 It is one of the smaller acquisitions CVS Caremark has done, but the purchase of the 33-unit Miami-based Navarro Discount Pharmacy could have big implications. CVS Caremark late Monday said it reached an agreement with Navarro, the largest Hispanic owned drugstore chain in the U.S., to acquire 33 stores and Navarro Health... Read more »
Builder Confidence Surpasses Key Benchmark In July
16 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 16, 2014 Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes reached an important milestone in July, rising four points to a reading of 53 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Any reading over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than... Read more »
Family Dollar Stays Positive Following Q3 Results
15 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 20, 2014 Just a month after activist investor Carl Icahn became Family Dollar’s largest shareholder prompting concerns of a hostile takeover, the company reported its third straight quarterly decline in same-store sales. Same-store sales for the third quarter ended May 31 decreased 1.8% because of fewer customer transactions, partially offset by an increase in... Read more »
Spending Growth Solid In June
15 Jul, 2014 • Helen Thomas
July 14, 2014 Solid June spending growth was reported for May 31, 2014 through June 30, 2014, compared to June 1, 2013 through July 1, 2013. A slowly improving economy and growing job market have helped drive consumer spending. Spending growth in June slowed slightly from May but remained positive on a year-over-year basis with... Read more »