Finance & Capital Management

Japanese retailer Uniqlo's U.S. expansion is picking up speed as the company prepares to open its first-ever stores in the Seattle, Denver and Washington, D.C.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid Corp. beat Wall Street expectations with soaring profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported net income of $1.83 billion, exponentially larger than net income of $55.4 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

A favorable tax asset valuation drove the substantial profit growth. Revenues rose 4% to $6.8 billion from $6.6 billion, mostly due to a same-store sales increase of 4.5%.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. is extending its college tuition assistance plan for workers to cover the entire cost of getting an online bachelor's degree. The coffee giant launched the program with Arizona State University in June 2014. At the time, it was limited to juniors and seniors looking to complete their degrees. But in a major expansion of the benefit, Starbucks said it will now cover the full cost of the four-year online degree.

Rockaway, N.J. – Party City is joining the initial public offering (IPO) party. The retailer has filed paperwork for an IPO that could raise as much as $428 million and value the company up to $2 billion.

One of the main reasons Party City wants to take its celebration public is to support planned growth of 350 new North American stores. The retailer currently operates 900 Party City stores, as well as the Halloween City, Factory Card & Party Outlet and Party Packagers chains.

Kroger is moving ahead with its strategic plan for 2015 by closing and rebranding some of its Harris Teeter stores in Tennessee, according to the Nashville Tennessean.

The four Harris Teeter stores owned and operated by the Kroger Co. in the Nashville, Tenn., area will be closing on or before June 15, the newspaper reports. Three of the stores will re-open, but under the Kroger banner. This is the first time the Kroger Co. has switched banners on a Harris Teeter store.

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening nine new stores in California between April 9 and April 11. The stores will be located in the communities of San Luis Obispo, Ontario, Sonora, Santee, Escondido, Tustin, San Bernardino, Cypress and South El Monte.

99 Cents Only currently operates 384 stores located in California, Texas, Arizona & Nevada.
 

A big jump in digital sales and the integration of Saks Fifth Avenue helped Hudson’s Bay Co. post a larger increase in profit in the fourth quarter.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay Company’s net profit in the fourth quarter jumped to C$111 million (USD $88.9 million) from C$37 million ,in the year-ago period, helped by strong digital sales, the successful integration of Saks Fifth Avenue and the strong U.S. dollar. The retailer said it plans to accelerate openings of Saks’ off-price Off 5th brand and strengthen its digital and omnichannel capabilities in its current fiscal year.