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Energy drinks unaffected by controversy
Mounting pressure to regulate energy drinks could hamper growth in a category that has been on an upward trajectory for years. But sales of energy drinks have so far been immune to controversy. Mintel forecasts that sales of the products could double from 2011 to 2016. In 2012, Mintel estimates dollar sales for the category will total $9.4 billion, an increase of nearly 11% over 2011 sales. New line extensions, like Red Bull’s Editions, will continue to drive the category.
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Target comps tumble 1% in November
A worse than expected 1% decline in November same store sales indicates the holiday season is off to a slow start at Target. The 1% decline was substantially worse than the low single digit increase the company forecast at the start of the month when it reported a 2.4% increase for October that was toward the low end of guidance.
The November weakness suggests traffic trends may be deteriorating at Target, as the company blamed the decline on a decrease in comparable store transactions following that metric’s flat performance in October.