SPRING HILL -
Warm weather and a stout Valentine's Day shopping crowd helped make last week a favorable one for the retail industry.
The week ending Feb. 14 was the third consecutive week-to-week improvement in the retail sector, according to the
International Council of Shopping Centers out of New York.
Some forecasters think the recent numbers are an indication an upswing is not far away.
"It is a sign that things are going to improve this year," said ICSC spokeswoman Erin Hershkowitz.
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EVEN before the economy tanked, discount stores, or dollar stores as Americans call them, were looking healthy. Now their profits are rising like helium-filled balloons. Dollar Tree, a Virginia-based chain of dollar stores, had sales of more than $1.39 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, a 6.8 % increase over the year before. For the whole of 2008, Dollar Tree, which has been in business since 1953, notched up record sales of $4.64 billion.
Family Dollar is prospering, too. The market value of this company, based in North Carolina and with more than 6,600 stores in 44 states, rose 36% last year. Other dollar-store companies have also reported big profits.
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PITTSBURGH- Despite a cutback in new-store openings, management at Dick’s Sporting Goods still sees the country supporting a total of 800 units, up from the 384 it currently operates, chairman and CEO Edward Stack said during the retailer’s fourth-quarter conference call.
"Our business has held up relatively well in this environment," he said of the recession. "We feel there is going to be consolidation in this industry."
Stack specifically pointed to the
Chapter 11 filing by Wilsonville, OR-based Joe’s Sports & Outdoor, a 30-store chain in the Northwest. That move could give Dick’s a chance to move into that region of the country, and if bankruptcies by other chains follow, there could be more opportunities, he said.
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Tuesday, grocery chain operator Kroger Co. (KR:
News ) posted higher profit in its fourth quarter, boosted by its namesake grocery brands. On a per share basis, earnings rose from last year and topped the Street view. In addition, the company issued full-year earnings forecast, below Consensus. Following the news, shares of the company are currently up more than 9%.
Q4 Results
The company's fourth-quarter net income was $349.2 million or $0.53 per share, compared to $322.9 million or $0.48 per share in the prior year quarter.
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Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation announced that net sales from continuing operations for the third quarter ended February 28, 2009 were $1.022 billion compared with $987.1 million for the comparative period ended March 1, 2008, a 3.5% increase. Comparative store sales decreased 4.3% for the quarter.
Net sales from continuing operations for the nine months ended February 28, 2009 were $2.731 billion compared with $2.612 billion for the comparative period ended March 1, 2008, a 4.5% increase. These results reflect a 2.3% comparative store sales decrease for the period.
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CHICAGO -- Video game retailer GameStop Corp. on Thursday raised its fourth-quarter earnings per share outlook to a range of $1.33 to $1.34 from its previous projection of $1.31 to $1.34. The company also said it now sees full year 2008 earnings in the range of $2.39 to $2.40 a share. GameStop added that it expects to "outperform the retail sector again" in 2009 "despite the current global recession." It expects earnings per share to rise by 18-22%, with sales at stores open at least a year rising 4-6%. "We are energized by the fact that video gaming has gone mainstream, with recent industry data showing that nearly half of new gamers are over 35 years old and 40% are female," said Dan DeMatteo, chief executive of GameStop, in a statement.
ATLANTA (Reuters) – CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N) posted a higher quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by growth in its pharmacy services and retail drugstore units, and said it expected more market share gains, sending its shares up 7 percent.
The company stood by its profit forecasts for the current first quarter and full-year 2009.
Chief Financial Officer Dave Rickard will retire at the end of this year, and CVS will start a search for his successor, the company added.
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Who’s still opening retail locations in this difficult economy? Once again following Apple’s example, Microsoft Corp., for one, has decided to open a chain of retail locations.
Interestingly, the software behemoth has hired an exec from Wal-Mart, the retail behemoth, David Porter, to oversee its entrance into the retail biz. How will the Microsoft stores be different? Details are few so far, but instead of genius bars, there will be guru zones (or something) in the store. Instead of an Apple logo and ultra-stylish decor, there will be... a pomegranate and cinder blocks? Time will tell.
Buffalo Wild Wings is also planning expansion in 2009, a rarity in the chain-restaurant world these days. Last year, the company opened 67 restaurants, bringing the total to 567 in 39 states. During 2009, the company is planning on increasing its number of restaurants by about 15 percent, or maybe about 85 locations.
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Turkish low-cost retailer BIM - known in the trade as “the Turkish Aldi” - aims to open forty stores in Morocco this year and invest 110 million lira (£55 million) as part of its current aggressive expansion. This is largely on the back of predictions that hard discounters will ultimately fare well in the global economic downturn. BIM has added that lower raw material costs would help maintain a “normal, acceptable” fourth quarter profit margin after a drop in the third quarter which concerned analysts.
At Is Invest, analysts said that higher operating and financial expense due to foreign exchange loss and interest expenses caused the lower bottom line in 4Q08 and 4Q07, adding that low prices make BIM the firm least affected in Turkey during the financial crisis.
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Empire Co, owner of the Sobeys supermarket chain, has seen its third-quarter net profit rise by a better-than-expected 27% to C$48.6m. Excluding capital losses and other items, the company earned 99 Canadian cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was up 9% to C$3.8bn. At Sobeys, overall sales were up 8.8% to C$3.74bn, while same-store sales rose by 7.6%.
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The Delhaize group has seen its fourth-quarter net profit jump a better-than-expected 30.5% to E149m, from E114m in the previous year, helped by growing demand for its own-brand products and the effects of a stronger US dollar. Operating profit was up 18.8% year-on-year to E288.7m, and it had earlier announced that sales rose by 15.8% to E5.4bn.
The company, which earns over two-thirds of its revenue in the US, has been one of the few multi-national chains to benefit from the strength of the US dollar, which helped boosts its figures. Delhaize noted that it also benefitted from an extra reporting week in the fourth quarter this year. The results beat the company's guidance range, and CEO Pierre-Olivier Beckers said this was due to "increased private brand sales, continued efficiencies and disciplined cost management".
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Save-A-Lot Food Stores said Thursday it is opening three new stores in New Orleans this week.
Save-A-Lot, which touted its involvement in the rebuilding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, said the three stores would create 100 new jobs for residents.
Save-A-Lot said it is able to expand because it specializes in offering “extreme-value,” or cheaper groceries.
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The Super de Boer supermarket group booked net profit of €29m in 2008, almost three times the year-earlier figure.
But analysts in the Financieele Dagblad pointed out that the earnings were influenced by one-offs. Operating profit rose from €21m in 2007 to €25m.
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Minneapolis (March 3, 2009) Target Corp. announced Tuesday the opening of 27 stores, including its first two locations in the state of Hawaii.
The new stores, which include 21 general-merchandise locations and six SuperTargets, will hold a grand opening on Sunday, March 8.
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Memphis, Tenn. (March 3, 2009) AutoZone reported on Tuesday net sales of $1.4 billion for its second quarter ended Feb. 14, an increase of 8.1% from fiscal second quarter 2008.
Domestic same-store sales increased 6% for the quarter.
Net income for the quarter increased $9.2 million, or 8.6%, over the same period last year to $115.9 million.
"At the end of the second quarter, our balance sheet was in excellent condition, and we remain committed to our disciplined approach of growing operating earnings while utilizing our capital effectively," said Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO.
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Natick, Mass. (March 4, 2009) BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. on Wednesday reported better-than-expected results with the news that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 5% partly on favorable state income tax audit settlements.
Earnings for the quarter ended Feb. 2 climbed to $52.7 million, from $50.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue grew 3% to $2.56 billion from $2.48 billion. Same-store sales increased 1.7%. Excluding gas, same-club sales rose 6.4%.
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Phoenix (March 4, 2009) PetSmart reported net income of $78.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with $75.4 million for same period from the year before, which included a fourteenth week, as fiscal 2007 was a 53-week year.
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San Francisco (March 4, 2009) Hot Topic said on Wednesday that its same-store sales rose 10.8% in February.
Meanwhile, the company also reported that its total net sales for the four weeks ended Feb. 28 increased 13.7% to $57.3 million
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New York City (March 5, 2009) Americans remained focused on groceries and other necessities in February, resulting in another month of sales declines for many merchants. But the results were not as steep as Wall Street expected.
Wal-Mart Stores led the discount store category. The chain’s February same-store sales jumped 5.1%, excluding fuel sales. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected a rise of 2.4%.
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Dallas (March 5, 2009) Blockbuster said its U.S. same-store sales rose 4.4% in the fiscal fourth quarter and that full-year earnings exceeded August's raised expectations.
The same-store sales gain was driven by a 37% surge at the retail end on increased sales of games, game merchandise and consumer electronics.
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New York City (March 5, 2009) Most apparel retailers continued to struggle in February, with some notable exceptions. The Buckle posted a 21% increase in February same-store sales, far above the 9% gain expected. Hot Topic reported Wednesday that its same-store sales rose 10.8%, more than double what analysts estimated. At Aeropostale, February same-store sales rose 11%, beating analyst expectations, as shoppers purchased spring merchandise.
Although most other apparel retailers remained in a funk in February, the results, in most cases, were not as bad as Wall Street predictions. One of the hardest hit retailers was Abercrombie & Fitch Co., whose same-store sales plunged 30% in February due to much weaker results at all its chains.
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SPRINGFIELD, N.J. (AP) - Village Super Market Inc., which runs ShopRites in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit grew 25 percent on increased sales and reduced operating expenses.
The company noted that shoppers are continuing to watch how they spending their money due to economic concerns, and have been trading down and buying more items on sale.
Net income rose to $8 million, or 60 cents per Class A share, compared with $6.4 million, or 49 cents per Class A share, a year earlier.
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Says one happy worker: 'We're fortunate to have great bosses'
DENVER - Eleven-year FreeWave Technologies Inc. employee Melanie Duran says the wireless data radio maker is a great place to work. But you can judge for yourself.
The Boulder-based company says it has had profits every month since it hired its first employee in 1995. There have been no layoffs. Employees get company-funded retirement plans and bonuses based on profits and growth.
And there's more: As part of a $113 million private-equity investment deal in 2007, FreeWave is sharing $9 million of investors' money with its fewer than 100 employees as a reward for the company's success. Shares are divvied up based on individual performance. FreeWave refused to disclose individual payments.
NBC anchor says request for positive stories has hit ‘incredible nerve’
NEW YORK - Between the drumbeat of bad economic stories, two wars and a winter that won't quit, NBC's Brian Williams knows he's been anchoring a depressing "Nightly News" for a depressed audience.
Still, even he was shocked at the thousands of responses he has received in less than two days after asking viewers to suggest some good news to report.
By Caleb Hellerman
CNN Medical Producer
Mark Wooten, 41, was devastated when his supervisor told him in November that he was being laid off from his job as a forklift operator in Norfolk, Virginia. It was the first time in his adult life he'd been out work; just a month earlier, he and his wife Caprice had moved into a new apartment with their two 15-year-old daughters.
"It's hard," Mark said. "We've made tremendous cutbacks."
When the Wootens sat down to plan a survival strategy, they agreed to make big changes. But there was one unconventional change: They hit the gym with a vengeance.
Caprice, 40, a hospital technician, had been struggling to stick with an exercise routine. With time to spare, Mark told her he would lend a hand; he needed to work off his own stress.
"Me being out of work and trying to file for
unemployment, going through hard times and tribulations -- I told [Caprice], 'You can be my inspiration, and I can be yours. We'll keep each other motivated, even on days we don't want nothing to do with the gym,' " Mark said.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Whole Foods Market Inc(
WFMI.O) posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates and forecast 2009 earnings ahead of analyst estimates, sending its shares up nearly 8 percent after-hours.
The grocery chain, which specializes in organic, natural and gourmet foods, said it was finding ways to cut costs and as shoppers pare more expensive items from their lists.
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TORONTO - Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC) reported a fourth-quarter profit boost of 14.4 per cent as sales revenue increased on the expansion of its store network and robust pharmacy sales.
Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 amounted to $173 million or 80 cents per share, versus $151 million or 70 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Overall sales rose 15.1 per cent to $2.5 billion while sales at stores open at least a year were up 3.6 per cent.
Shoppers chief executive Jurgen Schreiber said the company was pleased to "deliver sector-leading growth in these challenging times."
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NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Discount retailer Dollar General Corp said on Tuesday fourth-quarter sales at stores open at least a year rose 9.4 percent, and it plans to accelerate the opening of new locations.
The retailer also said total sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Jan. 30, were $2.85 billion, up 11.2 percent from a year earlier.
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Ross Stores Inc.’s same-store sales in January fell 1 percent year over year while overall sales were up 4 percent.
Pleasanton-based Ross (NASDAQ: ROST) on Thursday reported sales of $365 million for the four weeks ending Jan. 31, compared with sales of $350 million in the comparable period of 2008.
Ross put its sales for the fourth quarter ending Jan. 31 at $1.73 billion, up 5 percent compared with $1.65 billion for the comparable period last year. Same-store sales for the fourth quarter were down 1 percent versus a year ago.
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