Finance & Capital Management

While food and consumable retailers are struggling to pass along price increases and grow same stores sales, luxury retailer Tiffany is having little difficulty with either metric.

Price cuts made to clear seasonal merchandise were a primary driver of Chico’s lower net income for the second quarter ended Aug. 2.

The company posted net income of $30.1 million for the quarter, a drop of 31% from $43.6 million in the year-ago period. Net sales for the quarter were $671.1 million, an increase of 3.3% from $649.5 million in the previous year, but driven primarily by sales at 98 net new stores. Same-store sales inched up by 0.3%.

Express CEO Michael Weiss was optimistic about the retailer’s progress in the second quarter, especially considering the difficult environment the company has been dealing with in recent months.

AccuStore, a leading provider of site intelligence for retailers and multi-site operators, has added former ShopperTrak president and CEO Jan Davis to the board of AccuStore’s parent company, GSP.

Keurig Green Mountain has appointed José Octavio Reyes Lagunes, retired vice chairman of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, to its board of directors.

Fort Worth Texas – Hedge fund Standard General LP, RadioShack’s second-largest shareholder, is reportedly trying to negotiate a “rescue package” by obtaining debt and equity financing from outside investors. According Bloomberg, Standard General is also meeting with RadioShack management to create a plan that will let the retailer avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Greenwich, Conn. – Women’s lifestyle brand Vince Camuto will deploy Island Pacific SmartSuite solutions in all Vince Camuto retail stores. Island Pacific's SmartRetail core merchandising application, part of the Island Pacific SmartSuite of solutions for specialty retailers, will provide Vince Camuto parent company Camuto Group with an integrated end-to-end solution for the company’s headquarters and retail stores.

Toronto - Hudson’s Bay Company has appointed John Caplice to the position of senior VP treasury and investor relations, effective Sept. 2. He most recently served as senior VP treasurer & investor relations at Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. from 2000-2014.

While at Shoppers Drug Mart, Caplice was responsible for treasury and compliance activities, as well as developing and implementing communication strategies.

Caplice will be based in Toronto and will report to Paul Beesley, CFO, Hudson’s Bay Company.   

Colonia, N.J. -- Muscle Maker Grill, a fast-casual restaurant franchise that serves freshly prepared health-conscious meals, will be opening 22 new locations throughout the country, which will raise the number to more than 75 units.

Recent store openings include Las Vegas, Dallas, a third location in Connecticut, located in Hamden and a second location in Staten Island, New York. An additional 22 new franchises will result in the development of restaurants across the country, from California to New York.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. earned $146 million in the second quarter, down from $266 million in the year-ago period, topping analysts earnings estimates even as its revenue fell short. Its results were helped by ongoing cost reductions. Best Buy cut $40 million in annual costs last quarter, bringing the total to $900 million.

For the quarter ended Aug. 3, revenue dropped to $8.89 billion from $9.27 billion. Analysts had expected $8.99 billion. Same-store sales fell 2.7%, which was more than analysts had expected.