All articles by Planet Retail – Page 25
-
News
Walmart plans small stores roll-out
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 ...
-
News
Co-operative Eroski reports net loss
Co-operative Eroski has reported a net loss of E36m (£28.8m), a 44% improvement on the loss of E64.6m (£51.6m) the previous year. The retailer has now made a loss for four consecutive years as it continues to be hit by high level of debt and a weak economic environment. It ...
-
News
Casino’s franchisee SNMVT expands to Libya
Casino’s franchisee SNMVT – which runs supermarkets in Tunisia under the Monoprix banner – is expanding its retail activities to Libya. The company will reportedly open Monoprix stores in the country in partnership with Libyan businessman Husni Bey. The franchisee aims to operate 10 stores in major cities such as ...
-
News
Carrefour’s chief executive Lars Olofsson to depart earlier than expected
French retailer Carrefour’s chief executive Lars Olofsson is to step down earlier than expected. In light of the fact that “all the required conditions were met to shorten the transition period that began on January 29”, which was supposed to end on June 18, Georges Plassat becomes the new chief ...
-
News
Macy’s acquires minority stake in online retailer VIPStore
US department store group Macy’s has acquired a $15m (£9.5m) minority stake in Chinese online retailer VIPStore. Macy’s will sell its merchandise to Chinese consumers through a dedicated section on the website. The initiative will allow Macy’s to “test the waters a little bit and learn”, said chief financial officer ...
-
News
Discount chain Penny requests supplier contribution
Rewe Group’s domestic discount chain Penny is asking brand and private-label suppliers for a contribution of 2% to 2.5% of their sales to support its refurbishment programme. Penny is offering for suppliers to be featured in promotions and special leaflets in return. Since the end of February, Penny has converted ...
-
News
Sears Canada to open new store model
Department store group Sears Canada is opening its new store model at four locations as it attempts to offer a revitalised in-store experience. The renovated stores opened last week and feature wider aisles, new brands and less clutter. The KidsRoom, BabyRoom and women’s and men’s suit shops have all been ...
-
News
Aldi Nord presses ahead with store modernisation
Hard discounter Aldi Nord is pressing ahead with the modernisation of its 5,000 stores in Europe. The intention is to convert all stores within two years. In Germany alone, Aldi Nord reportedly wants to invest E280m (£223.8m) per year, in addition to regular expansion costs of an estimated E200m (£159.9m). ...
-
News
Target reveals net earnings increase
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
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
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 ...
-
News
Redcoon Germany launches online shop on Facebook
Metro’s Redcoon Germany has launched an online shop on its Facebook page. As an extra incentive, special offers for Facebook users will include lower prices than on its regular web shop Redcoon.de.Redcoon expects to gain new customers with the measure. In three days, 500 more Facebook fans had been added, ...
-
News
Off-price retailer TJX reports increase on first-quarter earnings
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
Real in talks with Auchan over sale of CEE business
Metro’s hypermarket division Real is in talks with French retailer Auchan over the sale of its Central and Eastern European (CEE) business, Manager Magazin reported. The operations include Poland, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.In 2011, Real in CEE ran 110 out of 426 Real stores, with net sales accounting for ...
-
News
Gap posts level profits on the year
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
Four key executives to leave Ikea France
Ikea France has disclosed the departure of four executives. A former managing director of Ikea France, a former human resources director, a former chief financial officer and the current director of risk management will leave the group.Last month, Ikea admitted to activities contravening ethical standards after workers sued it for ...
-
News
GameStop reports drop in net profits
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
Bharti Walmart to open Best Price Modern Wholesale store
Walmart’s joint venture Bharti Walmart is to enter Gujarat with a 50,000 sq ft Best Price Modern Wholesale store, to open later this year.The retailer said: “We plan to open 12 to 15 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in 2012, mainly in south and west India.” It also plans a ...
-
News
First quarter sales increase at Macy's
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
Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze to step down
Best Buy founder and chairman Richard Schulze is to step down after an internal investigation found he failed to alert the board that chief executive Brian Dunn was having an affair with a female employee. The probe found that Schulze “acted inappropriately” by not telling the retailer’s audit committee when ...