Finance & Capital Management

Freeport, Maine -- The man who turned a folksy Maine mail-order outlet into a global billion dollar-plus multichannel business has died.

Prescription counts decreased a little and pharmacy same-store sales were up in August, according to numbers reported by Rite Aid Thursday.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores Inc. posted declining profits and revenues in a generally difficult second quarter of fiscal 2015.

The retailer plans to close 40-50 underperforming stores by the end of the year, on top of 63 underperforming locations closed in the first half of 2015.

The True Value Company family has expanded with the addition of Pittsburgh-based Busy Beaver Home Improvement Centers.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc.’s sales slump continued in August across all its brands with one notable exception. The retailer said that it wasn’t helped by a late Labor Day, with the holiday falling in September this year, as opposed to August last year.

Gap's global same-store sales fell 8%, compared to a 6% decrease for the year prior, while Banana Republic had a 11% drop compared to 6% last year. Old Navy continued its winning streak, with a same-store sales rose 6% on top of a 2% increase for the prior year.

Gap Inc.’s sales slump continued in August across all its brands with one notable exception.

Philadelphia -- Teen and tween fave Five Below Inc. may not be meeting sales projections, but it remains on track for store expansion, with plans to open a total of 70 net new stores during fiscal 2015, including 16 net new stores in the third quarter.

The company, where every item costs no more than $5, is achieving its profitability targets, but doing so with productivity improvement in its selling space that is surprisingly weak given the newness of its store base.

Despite reporting ho-hum sales for July, Costco said Thursday that its comps for the fourth quarter and fiscal year were up an impressive 6%.