USA Today
J.C. Penney reported lower fourth-quarter revenue Wednesday, as it deals with previous CEO Ron Johnson's strategy to eliminate discount sales and roll out trendy merchandise. The company said fourth-quarter revenue eased to $3.78 billion from $3.88 billion in the quarter a year ago. But the company posted a lower-than-expected loss of 68 cents a share, vs. 85 cents forecast by Wall Street.
San Francisco Chronicle
Netflix is making fun of "Prime Air," Amazon's plans for flying delivery drones with a video about a fictive DVD rental service called "Drone2Home." The video shows fleets of little drone copters delivering DVDs to people with the occasional snafu. "That's right, our fleet of high-tech drones deliver your discs to you within mere seconds of you adding it to your queue."
Cincinnati Enquirer
Greenpeace is accusing Procter & Gamble of enabling destruction of rainforests in Indonesia by working with an irresponsible palm oil supplier. Palm oil is used in detergents, shampoos and cosmetics. Greenpeace is specifically objecting to P&G buying supplies from BW Plantation Group and unnamed traders it claims have contributed to the deaths of orangutans that live in the rainforest.
Chicago Tribune
Sears Holdings Corp. said it lost $1.36 billion last year as sales fell and stores closed in the company's transformation to a membership-based, online retailer. The company said $1.1 billion of the revenue decline came from having fewer Sears and Kmart stores in operation. It attributed another $ 1 billion to lower sales in stores open at least a year.
NYSportsJournalism.com
iON Cameras is staking its space in the global sports scene, this week signing on as the official sports action camera for soccer team Manchester City. Other alliances include the U.S. Open of Surfing, Lucas Oil's race teams, the PGA Tour and the Dew Tour, in addition to such athletes as Jeremy McGrath (AMA Supercross), Manny Santiago (skateboarding) and Olympic medal winners Kelly Clark (snowboarding) and Nick Goepper (slope-style free skiing). iON Cameras CEO and founder Giovanni Tomaselli talks.
Burger Business
The number of independent burger restaurants continues to increase at a rate faster than those for chain burger units, all quick-service or the total restaurant industry. The NPD Group's new Recount survey shows that the number of U.S. restaurants of all types increased by just 0.7% to 633,043 in the past year. But the number of quick-service burger restaurants increased by 1.2%.
Automotive News
Could be a sign of slowing demand? Analysts keeping an eye on incentives as a sign of slowing growth may see them in Chevrolet's national incentive promotion in March for Silverado and almost every other vehicle in the lineup. Chevy's Truck Month employee pricing promotion will run throughout March.
NYSportsJournalism.com
The NCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Tournament is fast approaching, and Hershey's brand Reese's will hit the court with a multi-platform effort that includes a prize-laden 'Make The Crowd Go Wild' sweepstakes. There's also basketball-specific products led by Fan Edition Printed Peanut Butter Cups, a takeover of Final Four Friday, an up-close and personal event with players and coaches, plus marketing support to include TV, print, Internet and social media.
Nation's Restaurant News
Twenty-two underperforming Outback Steakhouse units will close by the end of the first quarter of 2014 in a move aimed at paving the way for new growth. The planned closures will target locations with moderately negative sales that are not good candidates for relocation, said Dave Deno, executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer for Tampa, Fla.-based parent Bloomin' Brands.
Nation's Restaurant News
Michael Archer has stepped down as president of Applebee's and has been replaced by Steven Layt, parent company DineEquity Inc. announced Wednesday. The leadership shift was effective on Feb. 25, the company said. Archer left the company to pursue other opportunities, but his plans were not disclosed.