“Home Depot U.S. Comps Jump 8.2% in Q3.”  Highlights:

* U.S. comps +8.2%

* Overall comps +7.4%

* # of customer transactions +4%

* Avg. ticket +3.2%

* Sales increased 7.4% to $19.5 Bil

* Raises full year comp guidance to +7%

*  Frank Blake: “”Our third quarter results reflect the continuing improvement in the housing market and our solid operational performance.”

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Q3 2013 The Home Depot, Inc. Earnings Conference Call:  Today at 9:00 a.m. ET   Listen to the Webcast

 

“Dick’s Q3 Comp Sales Up 3.3%”  “Net sales for the third quarter of 2013 increased 6.7% to $1.4 billion. Adjusted for the shifted calendar, due to the 53rd week in 2012, consolidated same store sales increased 3.3%, compared to the Company’s guidance of approximately flat to an increase of 1%.”  Read more

 

Q3 2013 DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. Earnings Conference Call Today at 10:00 a.m. ET  Listen to the Webcast

 

“Costco:  Analyst ups stock price target nearly 15% after visiting new North Plainfield, NJ store” via Seeking Alpha.  “Analysts with the firm walked away impressed after a meet-and-greet with regional managers.A check of stores showed a new focus on products from North Face and Uggs shoes – as well as a wide assortment of Under Armour apparel.”  Read more (Subscription required).

 

“Best Buy Q3 U.S. Comps Up 1.7% (Compared to Down 4% Last Year).”  We delivered a Domestic comparable store sales increase of 1.7% and non-GAAP diluted EPS of a better-than-expected $0.18, and we continued to make substantial progress on our key Renew Blue priorities. This progress included, most notably driving a 15.1% increase in Domestic comparable online sales.”  Read more

 

Q3 2014 Best Buy Co., Inc. Earnings Conference Call Today at 8:00 a.m. ET  Listen to the Webcast

 

“Wal-Mart ups the ante on Black Friday yet again” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC.  “Not to be outdone by other large retailers, Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that it will kick off its Black Friday deals one week early.  The retailer said it will mark down prices on a number of toys and electronics starting Nov. 22, in stores and online.  The news follows Sears and Kmart’s announcement last week that they would offer Black Friday deals to “Shop Your Way” rewards customers one week early.”  Read more

 

“After the Storm in Illinois:  Tarps, Generators, Fencing & Roofing Supplies in Demand” at Quad-City Times.  “The Home Depot in Normal sold a large number of generators on Sunday and stayed open all night to accommodate people who lost power because of the storm.  There also has been a demand for fencing, roofing materials, extension cords and related materials…Holly Anderson of State Farm said the insurer had received about 1,800 homeowners’ claims in Illinois, 1,200 in Indiana and more than 550 in Michigan.  “We expect those numbers to continue to go up,” Anderson said.”  Read more

 

“Home Depot Hits the Ground Running after Indiana Tornado” by Bob Cox at Journal Review (IN).  “Maxwell (Red Cross) said a phone call to her office early Monday was another example of local people helping in times of crisis.  “My very first call on Monday was from Michelle Wright, who heads up the volunteer team at Home Depot,” Maxwell said. “Michelle immediately asked what her team could do, and we put together a list of needed supplies. Home Depot employees loaded the delivery truck and drove it to Mellott later in the morning.”  Read more

 

“Costco — the Bible is fiction” by Todd Starnes at Fox News.  ““All the Bibles were labeled as fiction,” the pastor told me…I called Costco headquarters in Issaquah, Wash. hoping to get answers. The nice lady who answered the phone told me she was aware of the issue and chalked it up to a “human error at a warehouse.”  “It’s all fixed,” she said.  But actually, it’s not fixed – because there’s a boatload of Bibles in the Simi Valley store still marked as fiction.  At that point, the nice lady on the phone became not-so-nice and promptly informed me that Costco doesn’t talk to the press.”  Read more

 

“Philly ABC-TV Report Ranks Food Stores” by Amy Buckman at 6 ABC.   “It’s a unique situation where Wegmans is offering just superior service and products for prices that are well below what the big chains are…Walmart’s prices were very low. Target’s prices were somewhere about 10% below the big chains prices. So, again, you would save money by shopping at a Target. The problem is at the regular Target stores and at Trader Joe’s even, you have this problem where you may have to suplement your shopping at those stores by shopping at a regular supermarket.” Read more / See the Video

 

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