Michaels Stores, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2010 Results

Michaels Stores, Inc. reported unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Total sales for the quarter were $1.331 billion, a 2.4% increase from fiscal 2009 fourth quarter sales of $1.300 billion. For the year, net sales increased 3.7% to $4.031 billion as a result of a 2.5% increase in same-store sales and $47 million in sales from new stores. The increase in same-store sales was driven by 1.3% increase in transactions. Fiscal 2010 gross profit increased $99 million to $1.564 billion.

Marketwire

Golf Town Opening 6 Boston Stores in $25M U.S. Expansion

Canada's largest golf retailer, Golf Town, has completed a $25 million expansion in the U.S., opening five stores throughout Greater Boston and a sixth on the way. The retailer has filled about 100,000 square feet of empty retail space and created 200 jobs with the rollout. The Golf Town shops are located in Avon, Bellingham, Reading, Seekonk and Watertown. A sixth store will open in Northborough in the fall.

City Biz Real Estate

Walgreens Set to Add Drugstore.com

Walgreen Co. said it would acquire e-tailer drugstore.com for approximately $409 million. The acquisition strengthens Walgreens' position as a "convenient multi-channel retailer of health and daily living needs." It will give the drug retailer access to more than 3 million online customers and add some 60,000 products in health, personal care, beauty and vision categories. Besides drugstore.com, other company websites in the acquisition are Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com.

Supermarket News

Expect Fewer Bags at Jewel-Osco

Jewel-Osco parent Supervalu Inc. hopes to save millions of dollars a year by training workers to avoid double-bagging, putting more items in each bag or skipping the bag altogether. Other grocers have long taught bagging techniques and sought to cut bag use, but Supervalu's program is unusually rigorous. Some of the Supervalu guidelines reinforce familiar bagging rules, such as starting the packing at the corners and moving from the outside in. But others break with common practices: No double-bagging. No bags for large items or items with handles. Never ask, "Paper or plastic?" - just use plastic bags. The rules can be broken, but only on request.

Chicago Breaking Business

Fakta Reports Record FY Profit

The Fakta supermarket chain has reported record profit figures for 2010. For the year, net profit jumped up 61% to 238m kronor, while sales rose by 7.6% to 8.5bn kronor. Fakta attributed the improved results to the "large and very dedicated effort" of its staff, as well as the "realisation of economies of scale as a result of closer collaboration between Fakta and other chains in Coop family". During the year, the chain opened 16 net new outlets and revamped 17 others. It said it plans to accelerate that programme, and will open 20 new outlets this year. 

Kam City

Kingfisher Gains on Earnings Growth Goal, New Store Plans

Kingfisher Plc, Europe's largest home-improvement retailer, rose in London trading after setting new earnings-growth goals for managers and saying it plans to expand through store openings and enter new markets. Kingfisher said it plans to open more than 240 stores to increase the total to more than 1,100. Most of the openings will be in Poland and Turkey as well as Screwfix trade outlets in the U.K. this year. The retailer will also consider new markets such as Brazil, India, Indonesia and eastern Europe, and will assess adding to new formats in China and Russia. 

Bloomberg

A.F. Blakemore Buys Rival Spar Wholesaler Capper & Co.

A.F. Blakemore & Son has bought fellow Spar UK wholesaler Capper & Co. to create a bigger business to supply the symbol retailer's convenience stores in the country. A.F. Blakemore, already the largest Spar wholesaler in the UK, said the transaction will create a business with a combined turnover of GBP1.1bn (US$1.7bn). Under the plans, Capper & Co. will trade as a separate division of A.F. Blakemore. Capper & Co. services 432 stores and covers an area from South Wales through to Gloucester, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Kent to south of the River Thames. 

Just Food

Co-operative Food Launches Money Saving Coupon Website

The Co-operative Food has partnered with beforeIshop, the digital pre-shopping network from Couponstar, to launch a 'Save More' website, which will allow its shoppers to save money across Co-operative Food stores nationwide. The launch of the 'Save More' site will feature the supermarket section of beforeIshop meaning manufacturer-led coupons will be displayed for consumers to select, print and redeem when shopping in Co-operative Food stores.

Promotional Marketing

Waitrose Customers Hit Out at New Website

Waitrose's ambitious plans to take on rival Ocado have not gone according to plan, as problems with its new £10m website have left some online shoppers defecting to rivals. Waitrose.com went live with much fanfare a fortnight ago but has been beset with a number of problems such as slow speed. The upmarket grocer has faced a barrage of criticism from customers, some saying they have switched to Sainsbury's or Tesco. Waitrose's troubles will be a boost to rival online grocer Ocado.

Guardian