All North America articles – Page 31

  • News

    Walmart teams up with Procter & Gamble in month-long promotion

    15 June 2012

    Walmart has teamed up with Procter & Gamble in a month-long promotion of online and mobile shopping in New York City.A lorry covered with QR codes for several P&G products, including Bounty paper towel, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Lams dog food, will tour the city. New Yorkers can use ...

  • News

    Walmart’s Pay with Cash scheme accounts for nearly 2% of online orders

    15 June 2012

    Walmart’s Pay with Cash scheme – which allows shoppers to order online and pay in cash in store – accounts for nearly 2% of online orders, according to Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com. He told a conference in Chicago that 30% of Pay with Cash customers were new to ...

  • News

    Toys R Us reports net loss of $60m

    13 June 2012

    Toys R Us reported a net loss of $60m (£39m) for the quarter ended April 28 compared with a loss of $67m (£43m) a year ago, despite a 0.9% drop in sales, thanks to margin improvements and cost controls. Net sales totalled $2.6bn (£1.7bn), hit by a decline of 5% ...

  • News

    Neiman Marcus posts total revenues increase

    8 June 2012

    Department store group Neiman Marcus posted total revenues of $1.06bn (£670m) for the 13 weeks ended April 28 compared with $983.8m (£621.7m) in the corresponding period in 2011. Like-for-like revenues rose 6.7%. Operating earnings were $146.6m (£92.6m) compared with $123.2m (£77.6m) the previous year, an increase of 19%. Net profit ...

  • News

    Rite Aid elects John Standley to chairman position

    8 June 2012

    Pharmaceutical retailer Rite Aid’s board has elected president and chief executive John Standley to the additional position of chairman, with effect from June 21. Standley will succeed Mary Sammons, who has served as chairman since June 2007 and whose term of service in the role concludes at the June annual ...

  • News

    GNC teams up with US cable TV network to launch online TV series

    1 June 2012

    Nutritional products retailer GNC has teamed up with US cable TV network Discovery Fit & Health to launch Transformation Diaries, an online TV series following four women working to achieve their personal ‘live well’ goals. In addition to their personalised webisodes, Transformation Diaries will chronicle each woman’s journey through first-person ...

  • News

    Seven & I plans new 7-Eleven stores in the US and Canada

    1 June 2012

    Convenience store operator Seven & I plans to add 630 new 7-Eleven stores in the US and Canada by the end of the year. The retailer has built and acquired a total of 600 stores in the US and Canada in 2011 and 56% of its US growth has been ...

  • Costco continues to follow a conservative store openings approach
    Analysis

    Costco’s caution pays off in ‘fragile’ environment

    1 June 2012

    US-based Costco’s third-quarter earnings registered slightly above its expectations.

  • News

    Walmart plans small stores roll-out

    31 May 2012

    Walmart plans a roll-out of its smallest format stores. US chief executive Bill Simon told an investor conference that its 12,000 to 15,000 sq ft Walmart Express stores, in locations including Chicago and North Carolina, are performing ahead of expectations. Walmart has 10 of the stores, which include grocery and ...

  • LK Bennett has raised £16m of new funding to accelerate expansion in the US
    News

    LK Bennett secures funding for US expansion

    25 May 2012

    LK Bennett has raised £16m of new funding to accelerate expansion in the US.

  • News

    Target reveals net earnings increase

    25 May 2012

    Mass merchandiser Target revealed that net earnings for the first quarter of 2012 rose 11.5% to $697m (£441.5m) year on year. Sales increased 6.1% from $15.6bn (£9.88bn) to $16.5bn (£10.45bn) due to a 5.3% rise in like-for-like sales and the contribution from new stores. EBIT was $1.12bn (£709.4m), an uplift ...

  • News

    JC Penney records drop in sales

    25 May 2012

    Department store operator JC Penney recorded a larger-than-expected drop in sales for the first quarter.The retailer, which aims to establish itself as an affordable fashion-orientated business by moving away from promotions and couponing to low prices on most items, also surprised investors by ending its dividend to help fund a ...

  • News

    Steve Hofmann promoted to chief executive of QVC Europe

    25 May 2012

    TV shopping retailer QVC has promoted its Italian chief executive Steve Hofmann to the new position of chief executive of QVC Europe. Hofmann will oversee the television shopping operator’s European markets, including the UK, Germany and Italy, and accelerate growth opportunities in the region. He also retains his position as ...

  • Walmart has renewed its commitment to everyday low prices in the US
    Analysis

    Walmart prospers in US but stuggles with digital

    25 May 2012

    Recording its third consecutive quarter of positive comps growth, it appears Walmart has finally found momentum in the US by going back to basics Walmart US reported a 2.6% rise in first-quarter like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, last week.

  • News

    Off-price retailer TJX reports increase on first-quarter earnings

    24 May 2012

    Off-price retailer TJX reported that first-quarter earnings soared 58% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the quarter ended April 28, TJX recorded a profit of $419.2m (£265.5m), up from $266m (£168.5m) in the prior year. Sales rose 11% to $5.8bn (£3.67bn) while gross margin climbed to 28.2% ...

  • News

    Gap posts level profits on the year

    23 May 2012

    Clothing retailer Gap posted first-quarter profit unchanged on the prior year at $233m (£147.6m). It results from higher like-for-like sales in North America but weakness abroad and a rise in operating expenses. In 2011, Gap suffered a profits slide every quarter, attributed to key trend misses over the past few ...

  • News

    GameStop reports drop in net profits

    23 May 2012

    Entertainment retailer GameStop reported a 10% drop in net profit to $72.5m (£45.9m) for its first quarter ended April 28. As the company had previously warned, sales fell 12.2% to $2bn (£1.27bn) on the back of weak demand. The video games specialist said that sales of new hardware and software ...

  • News

    First quarter sales increase at Macy's

    18 May 2012

    Department store group Macy’s sales rose 4.3% to $6.1bn (£3.8m) in the first quarter of 2012 when like-for-likes were up 4.4%. Online sales – Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com combined – climbed 33.7%. Online sales are included in the like-for-like sales calculation and lifted the retailer’s like-for-likes by 1.5 percentage points. Macy’s ...

  • News

    Netflix signs multi-year distribution agreement

    18 May 2012

    Netflix has signed a multi-year distribution agreement to bring TV shows and classic movies from Twentieth Century Fox to its streaming customers in Latin America. Terms of the agreement, due to commence in July, were not disclosed.The entertainment provider said customers in Latin America would gain access to all past ...

  • Zev Weiss
    Analysis

    Profile: Zev Weiss, chief executive, American Greetings

    18 May 2012

    The collapse of Clinton Cards has put the boss of Ohio-based supplier American Greetings at the centre of the controversy.