All articles by Planet Retail – Page 43

  • News

    Williams-Sonoma revenue up 5.1%

    2011-08-31T14:13:00Z

    Home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma has reported net revenues up 5.1% to $815m (£498m) for the second quarter ended July 31. Net earnings were up 4.8% to $39m (£24m). The consolidated revenues were driven by a strong comparable brand growth rate, a measure that includes both like-for-like net revenues and total ...

  • News

    Mercator reports first-half revenue of €1.4bn

    2011-08-31T14:10:00Z

    Mercator has reported first-half revenue of €1.4bn (£1.24bn), up 6.1% year-on-year. Net profit grew by 4.9% to €18.5m (£16.3m). The company’s measures for the period included lowering the prices of more than 2,000 products, which required an investment of almost €12m (£10.6m). The sales area of the company’s operations grew ...

  • News

    Ahold operating income drops

    2011-08-31T14:07:00Z

    Ahold saw operating income drop 4.9% to E719m (£634.5m) in the first half of 2011. Net sales reached E16.1bn (£14.2bn), up 1.7% in comparison with the same period in 2010. In the second quarter, net sales dropped 3.5% to E6.9bn (£6.1bn). Ahold’s US operations saw net sales increase by 6.5% ...

  • News

    Home Depot to roll out click and collect

    2011-08-31T14:05:00Z

    Home Depot is to roll out its Buy Online, Pickup In-Store service across its US stores during the third quarter of 2011. The service currently runs in around 100 Home Depot stores. The move is in line with the retailers’s stated focus on “interconnected retail”, based on the view that ...

  • News

    Grocery retailer Target looks for future growth

    2011-08-26T07:00:00Z

    Grocery retailer Target is to look to urban formats, international expansion and ecommerce for future growth with the aim to reach $100bn (£60.72bn) in annual sales by 2017.Chief executive Greg Steinhafel told investors in New York that Target has identified “hundreds” of potential trade areas for its new CityTarget format, ...

  • News

    Walmart launches new double-decker store

    2011-08-26T07:00:00Z

    Walmart has launched a new double-decker store concept in Dallas, Texas, featuring a Walmart store on the top floor and Sam’s Club below. The store has been designed to save Walmart money by maximising the use of the land being used, while offering customers the convenience of a one-stop shop. ...

  • News

    Sears reports total revenue decrease

    2011-08-26T07:00:00Z

    Sears has reported a decrease in total revenue of $125m (£75.9m) to $10.3bn (£6.25bn) for the second quarter ended July 30. The decline was primarily a result of a 0.7% fall in domestic like-for-like sales and the effect of having fewer Kmart and Sears full-line stores in operation.However, it was ...

  • News

    Dollar Tree reports second quarter results

    2011-08-25T07:00:00Z

    Discount chain Dollar Tree has reported its results for the second quarter ended July 30. Consolidated net sales increased 11.9% to $1.54bn (£935m) compared with the previous year, while like-for-like sales increased 4.7%. Based on estimated comparable sales growth, Dollar Tree anticipated third quarter sales to range between $1.56bn (£947m) ...

  • News

    Carrefour not looking to sell Brazil unit

    2011-08-25T07:00:00Z

    International grocery chain Carrefour is not looking to sell its Brazil unit, Carrefour chief executive Lars Olofsson said. “Carrefour in Brazil is not for sale. I’m not talking with Walmart,” Olofsson said.Last week, French newspaper La Tribune reported that Walmart had hired financial services company UBS to advise on a ...

  • News

    Ahold sells its ICA Maxi hypermarkets and superstores

    2011-08-25T07:00:00Z

    The board of Ahold’s Norwegian ICA operations has decided to sell its ICA Maxi hypermarkets and superstores. The retailer plans to concentrate its Norwegian operations on discount store chain Rimi and the ICA Supermarket concept. This means ICA Norway will initiate a sales process for the company’s ICA Maxi stores. ...

  • News

    Couche-Tard signs agreement to acquire 33 stores

    2011-08-24T07:00:00Z

    Retailer Couche-Tard has signed an agreement through its Circle K subsidiary to acquire 33 stores in southern Louisiana from ExxonMobil’s On the Run banner. The deal is likely to close in December. Sites will be converted to the Circle K brand while continuing to sell Mobil-branded fuel. Jason Broussard, vice-president ...

  • News

    Turkish discount retailer A101 attracts seven bidders

    2011-08-24T07:00:00Z

    Turkish discount retailer A101 has attracted seven bidders in the first round of an auction to sell off the business. TPG and Permira are among the private equity firms that submitted bids. Credit-Suisse is running the sale process for the business, which has been valued between TRL800m (£271.7m) and TRL1bn ...

  • News

    Gross sales rIse at Lotte Shopping

    2011-08-23T15:53:00Z

    Lotte Shopping’s gross sales rose 20.3% to SKW5.5trn (£3.1bn) in its second quarter for 2011. Operating profit rose by 8.1% to SKW437bn (£243.8m) while net profit soared by 17.1% to SKW301bn (£167.9m).For the first six months, gross sales climbed 23.8% to SKW11.2trn (£6.25bn). In terms of sales, the group’s Lotte ...

  • News

    7-Eleven expands its network of stores

    2011-08-23T15:47:00Z

    Seven & I-owned convenience chain 7-Eleven is expanding its network of stores by acquiring 51 ExxonMobil Corp stores in Dallas, Texas. Financial terms of the deal are not available, though the transaction is expected to close towards the year end.Under the conditions of the pending deal, the stores will continue ...

  • News

    Isetan Mitsukoshi reports net sales rise

    2011-08-23T07:00:00Z

    Department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi reported a net sales rise of 0.2% to ¥289.9bn (£2.31bn) for the first quarter ended June 30. Net profit was ¥16.9bn (£13.5m), compared with a loss of ¥795m (£6.3m) the previous year. The company blamed sluggish sales on low consumer spending after the earthquake in ...

  • News

    Stockmann reports net sales increase

    2011-08-22T07:00:00Z

    Department store retailer Stockmann reported net sales rose 13% to E510.2m (£449m) for the second quarter. But net profit fell 43% to E14.7m (£13m).The retailer forecasts second-half 2011 operating profit will outperform the previous year, driving an overall rise in pre-tax earnings. Stockmann expects Russian operations to continue to grow ...

  • News

    Sales increase for department store Macy’s

    2011-08-19T07:00:00Z

    Department store operator Macy’s has said sales in the second quarter ended July 30 rose 7.3% to $5.94bn (£3.7bn) and 6.4% on a like-for-like basis. Online sales (Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com) were up 40.2%. Operating income climbed 37% to $506m (£313m).Macy’s chairman, president and chief executive Terry Lundgren said: “All of ...

  • News

    Walmart to reorganise its ecommerce business

    2011-08-19T07:00:00Z

    Walmart is to reorganise its ecommerce business in several key markets. It has disclosed the departure of two senior online executives as part of a strategy to better integrate online retailing with local bricks and mortar operations.Raul Vazquez, who was in charge of ecommerce initiatives in developed markets, including the ...

  • News

    Celesio reports first-half sales decrease

    2011-08-17T07:00:00Z

    Drug distributor and pharmacy operator Celesio reported first-half sales down 1% to E1.75bn (£1.5bn) in its retail division, which includes Lloydspharmacy in the UK and DocMorris on the continent. The division’s pre-tax earnings fell 25.6% to E102.1m (£88m). The company attributed the decline to government measures and a fall in ...

  • News

    Amazon launches cloud-based version of Kindle

    2011-08-17T07:00:00Z

    Amazon has launched a cloud-based version of its Kindle e-reader, allowing users to buy and read Kindle e-books from any device from within a web browser. Based on HTML5, the reader requires no download or installation and automatically stores books locally for offline reading.The move comes just two weeks after ...