Finance & Capital Management

Hangzhou, China – A week after unveiling a cloud protection plan and releasing more than 60 new cloud products and solutions through its cloud computing subsidiary Aliyun, Alibaba is not standing still.

The Chinese Internet giant is firmly staking a claim in the cloud with the planned investment of an additional $1 billion to fuel further growth at Aliyun.

Beijing – Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com Inc. has unveiled an enhanced version of its online enterprise procurement platform, JD Enterprise. The JD Enterprise Intelligent Procurement Platform, initially launched in late 2014, uses data-driven insights to make the procurement process more efficient for both suppliers and customers.

The new services unveiled will enable corporate customers to manage more of their procurement functions directly via JD Enterprise.

Supervalu Inc. said it is considering spinning off its Sav-A-Lot stores into a separate business as the discount chain reported a big earnings increase for the first quarter.

Net earnings soared 42% to $61 million, from $43 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year. Cost of sales rose at a slower pace than net sales, aiding profit growth. Net sales rose 3% to $5.41 billion, from $5.26 billion.

Plano, Texas – Reductions in labor hours and store expenses, as well as a sourcing and distribution initiative, helped boost profit at Rent-A-Center Inc. in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income rose 31% to $23.15 million, from $17.68 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Consolidated revenue also performed well, growing 6% to $815.34 million from $768.43 million. Consolidated same-store sales increased 7.5%, aided by especially strong performance in Mexico stores.

The CEO of Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. says sales and earnings are growing at the California-based retailer despite the recreational impacts of the drought in that state.

Minneapolis – Supervalu Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 and also announced it is considering spinning off its Save-A-Lot grocery banner. Net earnings soared 42% to $61 million, from $43 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year.

Cost of sales rose at a slower pace than net sales, aiding profit growth. Net sales rose 3% to $5.41 billion, from $5.26 billion.

Moorestown, N.J. -- Pro-Tech Energy Solutions has been selected by A.C. Moore to install a 3.48MW rooftop solar installation.

The rooftop array will be installed on the A.C. Moore distribution warehouse and headquarters in Berlin, New Jersey. Part of a cost-saving and sustainable energy initiative, the rooftop array will cover approximately 432,000 sq. ft. and utilize string inverters to provide maximum control over energy supply.

Growth prospects for the food and consumables business at 99 Cents Only just improved considerably following the appointment of a former Walmart EVP of merchandising to a key role.