Finance & Capital Management

L Brands Inc. continues to surpass expectations as the parent company of Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret reported a bump in same store sales.

The company said net sales increased 3% to $1.207 billion for the five weeks ended July 4, compared to net sales of $1.176 billion for the five weeks ended July 5, 2014.  Same store store sales for the five weeks ended July 4, 2015, increased 3%.

New York -- Every retailer needs a good CFO and that’s especially true at Conn’s where the company’s business model requires balancing the need to grow sales against the charge off risk associated with extending credit to subprime customers.

Conn’s, the 90-store retailer of furniture, bedding, appliances and consumer electronics, named Thomas Moran CFO on July 9. He replaces Mark Haley, Conn’s chief accounting officer, who had filled the position on an interim basis since last December.

Boise, Idaho – Albertsons Companies Inc., which became the second-largest grocery retailer in the United States after purchasing Safeway in January, is planning to return to public ownership with a major stock offering that has implications for trading partners and competitors.

Hangzhou, China – Nobody can accuse Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. of sitting back and resting on its past success.

The global e-commerce giant is constantly making investments and launching new businesses, and in the past 24 hours has made two new business moves of significant interest to its online retailing competitors.

Photo via Boston Business Journal

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is taking its urban-format to the East Coast.

The retailer will open a CityTarget location in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood on July 22. Boston Business Journal offers a sneak peek at the three-level, 160,000-sq.-ft. store.

Click here.

 

Albertsons completed its acquisition of Safeway earlier this year to create a $57.5 billion company that now plans to return to public ownership with a major stock offering with implications for trading partners and competitors.

Atlanta – Home furnishings retailer Havertys is on a roll. Sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 7% to $187.7 million from $175.1 million a year earlier, and the company plans to open a new store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the third quarter.  

Same-store sales for the quarter increased 4.8%. Total written sales increased 5% and written same-store sales increased 2.4%. Havertys also plans to complete two store renovations in the third quarter.
 

New York -- Blue Apron. Dollar Shave Club. Real Real. Honest Company. All start-ups, all relative newcomers to the retail scene,  and all generating big buzz and sale increases — enough to place them among the top 20 fastest-growing e-retailers in a recent survey. What’s more, they are all pure players (at least for now).

Here’s a brief snapshot of these four up and comers: