Finance & Capital Management

A 30-year veteran of REI has been named as the new CEO of Bartell Drugs.   

The cold hard winter may have been taxing for some but it was certainly profitable for Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp., which reported an increase in profit in the first quarter.

The Kroger Co. is continuing to invest in its footprint in 2015, this time with plans to build 11 new stores and remodel 22 existing stores in the Indianapolis area, according to the Indianapolis Star.

New York – Foot Locker Inc. is rebooting its New York flagship store. The sporting goods chain has signed a new retail lease with landlord Empire State Realty Trust Inc. (ESRT) to retain its flagship location on West 34th Street.

Minneapolis – Doug Baker, CEO of environmental technology firm Ecolab, has been named by Target Corp. as lead independent director of the Target board. Baker, who already serves as an independent director for Target, will replace current independent director Jim Johnson, who is retiring from the board in June after almost 20 years.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation today welcomed bipartisan patent reform legislation introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck E. Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Patrick J. Leahy, D-VT, that seeks to protect retailers and other businesses from overly litigious patent trolls.

El Segundo, Calif. – Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. kicked off fiscal 2015 with a strong performance in the first quarter. Net income grew 6% year-over-year to $2.3 million from $2.1 million, and would have grown more if not for increased expenses relating to wages and benefits, new stores, and a legal settlement.

Big 5 plans to open approximately 10 net new stores in fiscal 2015, including three in the second quarter.

Net sales climbed 5% to $243.6 million from $231.3 million, aided by a 3.9% increase in same-store sales.

Atlanta -- Sandwich operator Arby's Restaurant Group recorded systemwide same-store sales growth in first quarter 9.8%, marking 18 consecutive quarters of comp growth and indicating progress toward the quick-serve chain’s goal to surpass $4 billion in system-wide total sales by the end of 2018.
 

Toano, Va. -- Lumber Liquidators Holdings reported a first-quarter loss of $7.8 million, swinging from a profit of $13.7 million in the year-ago period and missing Wall Street expectations. Revenue of $260 million in the period met analysts’ forecasts.

Beijing, China -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled plans to countermand slowed growth in China with 115 new stores in the country by 2017 and creating some 30,000 jobs. The announcement adds about 35 new stores to the retailer’s building plans as Wal-Mart previously targeted 480 total stores in China by 2016, up from around 400 now.

CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that "China is a key strategic market for Walmart. Over the next three years we will increase investment across our diverse business operations in China.”