Finance & Capital Management

Veteran finance executive and former top Walmart executive Wan Ling Martello has joined the board of directors of Alibaba as the Chinese e-commerce giant eyes growth in the U.S.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. exceeded Wall Street projections with net earnings of $753 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, a 221% increase from $234 million the same period the prior fiscal year. Declining selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and loss from discontinued operations helped boost profits as sales climbed.

Target reported net sales of $17.4 billion, up 2.8% over the same period last year.

Lowe’s was hoping not to be outshined by Home Depot’s strong financial results, but hopes turned into missed opportunities Wednesday as Lowe's reported disappointing profit growth.

For the second quarter ended July 31, Lowe’s had earnings of $1.13 billion, up from $1.04 billion in the same quarter last year. On a diluted basis, earnings were $1.20 a share, 4 cents below analysts’ estimates. Home Depot reported a much higher profit on Tuesday.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. met Wall Street expectations with declining profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Costs related to restructuring and the pending acquisition of Office Depot drove net income down 56% to $36 million, from $82 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales fell 5% to $4.94 billion, from $5.22 billion. North American store closures and unfavorable foreign exchange rates pushed sales totals downward. Same-store sales in North America (including online) fell 3%.

Dallas – Encore Retail, LLC, a subsidiary of Encore Enterprises, Inc., has acquired land to develop a 16+ acre high-density Class A mixed-use development in the affluent Town of Bedford, New Hampshire. The development is planned to be over 200,000 sq. ft. and will consist of fashion, recreation, fitness, dining and office space located in New Hampshire's retail and business hub.

The property is positioned along South River Road at the intersection of Route 101 and Everett Turnpike

 In a shift to quality over quantity, Walmart has cut expansion plans for its Neighborhood Market stores despite the format’s consistently strong top line growth in recent years.

New York -- Almost as quickly as tiny northwest grocer Haggen became a regional player by acquiring 146 former Safeway and Albertsons stores the company is retrenching and has plans to close a large number of stores.

Toano, Va. – Shuffling in the executive ranks continues at embattled Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc., in the wake of accusations the retailer sold Chinese hardwood laminate products that had illegal levels of formaldehyde. Lumber Liquidators has hired Jill Witter as chief compliance and legal officer.