Retailing in the Week Ahead – Week 25, 2019 Historians say that the years 1900-2000 were ‘The American Century’. However, many futurists claim that 2000-2100 will be the ‘The Asian Century’, and it’s easy to see why. Asia features front-and-centre in many ...

Target announced this week that same-day delivery is now available via Target.com. In doing so, Target brings Shipt’s capabilities directly to the Target web platform. From a user experience perspective, this integration makes total sense. Now, Target shoppers do not need to leave ...

As expected, CVS Investor Day delivered on its promise to inform and excite the investor community. CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo started the day by introducing a new set of strategic priorities and announcing the expansion of the retailer’s new HealthHUB format to 1,500 stores. CVS’s ...

Online sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) grew by 20.3% globally in 2018 and now represent 5.1% of grocery sales worldwide, according to new Kantar data. Growth was spurred by the US and China Mainland, which together represent 84% of the growth in global eCommerce thanks to the success ...

All eyes (and ears) are on CVS’s June 4 Investor Day after a relatively quiet and quick first-quarter earnings call. Now merged with Aetna, the retailer has much to reveal to the financial community about both its short- and long-term goals. Since CVS’s efforts to evolve its core ...

In the midst of the home improvement channel’s high season, nearly half of all primary household shoppers report plans to start a home improvement project in the next six months. After a slow start to spring weather demand at Home Depot and Lowe’s, both retailers will look for ways ...

Dollar General is anticipated to have another strong fiscal year after posting sales of $6.6 billion for the quarter ended May 3, 2019, an increase of 8.3% over the same period prior year. Comps for the retailer increased 3.8% and are attributed to gains in basket size and store traffic. In ...

lta once again delivered strong growth to start the year driven by growth online, as well as positive comps, traffic, and ticket in stores. By the numbers Ulta’s sales increased 12.9% in the quarter with comps (including stores and ecommerce) increasing 7%. 4.3% of the comp was driven ...

Dollar Tree President and CEO Gary Philbin cited positive gains in the first quarter for the enterprise amid corporate consolidation efforts. Combined Q1 net sales of $5.81 billion were up 4.6% compared with the same period last year. The increase was in line with the Q1 guidance the retailer ...

Slips at key retailers dampen channel growth April’s channel activity was surprisingly flat despite the Easter holiday shift to later in the month vs. last year, with most channels maintaining roughly the same shopper penetration vs, last year. Drug store and personal care/beauty retailers ...

Lowe’s Q1 2019: New initiatives anchor growth in spring season After a year of significant change in 2018, Lowe’s was looking for a strong start to 2019, implementing a number of productivity-driving initiatives ahead of the busy spring season. While some legacy pricing inefficiencies ...

CVS Health closed its first quarter with strong results, benefiting particularly from script growth as the retailer profits from its merger with Aetna. With the insurance company now part of the CVS family, total revenue grew 35% versus a year ago. Bucking a channel-wide trend, CVS’s front-store ...

As the peak selling season set in for the home improvement channel, Home Depot capitalized on shoppers’ spring project plans, with total sales increasing by 5.7% compared to the same period in 2018. Despite beating expectations for total sales, the retailers’ comps took a relative ...

The same confident, positive tone set during the retailer’s Investor Day in March continued throughout the first quarter’s earnings report. Target remains confident in its store-focused initiatives and bolstered by this strong start to 2019. By the numbers Target saw its eighth ...

While results in this sector are often a mixed bag, this quarter’s “lows” seem to be much lower than expected. Ascena group reportedly will shut down is Dressbarn business, after several years of poor performance despite concerted efforts to invest in the business; Kohl’s ...