March 15, 2021 Insight Report Premium Earnings Insights 4Q20, Week 6: Discounters and E-Commerce Players See Continued Strength; Substantial Recovery for Beauty CategoryOur weekly Earnings Insights reports feature highlights from recent management commentary at major US retailers as they report fourth-quarter 2020 earnings. This week, there are highlights from companies that reported in the week ended March 14—namely, Big Lots, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JD.com, Stitch Fix and Ulta Beauty.
March 12, 2021 Store Tracker Databank Members Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2021, Week 10: US Openings Exceed Closures as Discount Chains ExpandOur Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker reports on store closures, openings and bankruptcies. This week, there are highlights from Abercrombie & Fitch, Burlington Stores, Chico’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Foxtrot Market, Gap, Grocery Outlet, NIKE, Ross Stores and The Children’s Place in the US and Clarks and Morrisons in the UK.
March 9, 2021 Insight Report Premium How Are US Home and Home-Improvement Retailers Handling Returns?We discuss seven measures that US home and home-improvement retailers use to manage their returns processes, including updates in light of increased e-commerce demand. We include examples from retailers including Home Depot, IKEA, Macy’s, Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma and innovators such as Position Imaging and Newmine.
March 9, 2021 Insight Report Premium New Retail in China: Tencent Pilots Centralized Portal for WeChat Mini ProgramsWe discuss recent developments in New Retail in China, including Tencent’s launch of a centralized portal for brands and retailers’ WeChat mini programs. We also discuss the IPO prospectus filing from JD Logistics and the opening of a Tmall Luxury Pavillion store by Italian high-end shoe brand Santoni.
March 8, 2021 Insight Report Premium Earnings Insights 4Q20, Week 5: Discounters Stand Strong While Department Stores Remain Badly Hit and Apparel Specialists See Slow RecoveryOur weekly Earnings Insights reports feature highlights from recent management commentary at major US retailers as they report fourth-quarter 2020 earnings. This week, there are highlights from companies that reported in the week ended March 7—namely, American Eagle Outfitters, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Burlington Stores, Dollar Tree, Foot Locker, Gap Inc., Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Kohl’s, Kroger, Nordstrom, Ross Stores, Target and Urban Outfitters.
March 5, 2021 Store Tracker Databank Members Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2021, Week 9: TJX Companies To Open 81 Net US Stores in 2021Our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker reports on store closures, openings and bankruptcies. This week, there are highlights from Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Casper Sleep, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hudson, Macy’s, Paper Source, Payless, Sprouts Farmers Market, TJX Companies and Victoria’s Secret in the US and Amazon, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Thomas Pink in the UK.
March 4, 2021 Store Tracker Databank Members US Store Tracker Extra, February 2021: 2,222 Store Closures by Major US Retailers Will Result in 31 Million Square Feet of Closed Retail Space in 2021The US Store Tracker Extra monthly series offers insight into retailers’ store closure and opening announcements. We include details on closures and openings as a percentage of total store base as well as square-footage impact. This report also offers a comparison between year-to-date announced closures and openings, as of February 26, 2021, versus the comparable period in 2020.
March 4, 2021 Insight Report Premium 2021 US Tax Tracker #1: IRS Issues $48 Billion in RefundsThe IRS kicked off the 2021 tax filing season on February 12 this year when it began accepting tax returns for 2020—a delay compared to the normal start in early January. The delays this year allowed the IRS more time to prepare for the Covid-19 Relief Bill, which took effect in the US in late December. The IRS expects to receive over 160 million individual tax returns in 2020.
March 3, 2021 Market Navigators/Market Outlook Premium Market Outlook: Retail Technology Becomes Even More Crucial in 2021In this Market Outlook, we discuss the global retail technology market in a pandemic-impacted retail environment. We present data on the size of the global market and its major segments, and we outline the primary market drivers in 2021. This report explores the competitive landscape and key tech trends across the segments of cloud computing, enterprise software, supply chain software, AI platforms and retail hardware.
March 1, 2021 Insight Report Premium Earnings Insights 4Q20, Week 4: Home Categories Stand Strong, While Apparel Sees Weak DemandOur weekly Earnings Insights reports feature highlights from recent management commentary at major US retailers as they report fourth-quarter 2020 earnings. This week, there are highlights from companies that reported in the week ended February 28—namely, Best Buy, Farfetch, Home Depot, L Brands, Lowe’s, Macy’s, The RealReal, The TJX Companies and Wayfair.
February 25, 2021 Insight Report Premium Chinese New Year Review: Retail Sales See Impressive Year-Over-Year Growth Against Weak 2020The Chinese government encouraged people to stay put for the recent Chinese New Year festival, impacting more than 100 million people who would typically return home for the holiday each year. We discuss retail sales over the holiday, including the impact of people not returning home on consumer spending.
February 24, 2021 Insight Report Premium US Retail’s Updated Gift Card Guidelines: Accounting for Breakage and BankruptcyUS retailers witnessed a surge in gift cards sales in 2020. We discuss how US retailers account for gift cards under the updated revenue recognition model issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). We cover how retailers record sales and redemptions of gift cards, as well as the two methods of accounting for unredeemed gift cards under FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606 update. We also explore retailers’ liabilities toward gift card holders in the event of bankruptcy and liquidation.
February 23, 2021 Insight Report Premium The New Value Retailers: Online Marketplaces Challenge Brick-and-Mortar Budget FormatsThe value retail sector is expanding beyond traditional brick-and-mortar budget formats (including discount variety retailers such as dollar stores) with the emergence of online value marketplaces. We see the growth of these e-commerce platforms as presenting challenges to predominantly offline retailers in the value retail sector. We discuss the key online players, with a focus on the US, the UK and China.
February 22, 2021 Insight Report Premium Earnings Insights 4Q20, Week 3: Walmart and CVS Health Remain Strong, While L’Oréal Sees RecoveryOur weekly Earnings Insights reports feature highlights from recent management commentary at major US retailers as they report fourth-quarter 2020 earnings. This week, there are highlights from companies that reported in the week ended February 21—namely, beauty brand owner L’Oréal, drugstore retailer CVS Health and mass merchandiser Walmart.
February 19, 2021 Store Tracker Databank Members Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2021, Week 7: Läderach To Open 34 New Stores in the US MarketOur Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker reports on store closures, openings and bankruptcies. This week, there are highlights from Amazon Fresh, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Läderach, and Tempur Sealy in the US and Asda, B&M, Home Bargains, Lidl and Toolstation in the UK.
