Finance & Capital Management

Forbes is reporting that Amazon.com is in the preliminary stages of a deal to buy luxury retailer Net-a-porter, which could be its biggest acquisition ever according to the magazine.

Seattle-based Amazon has been making moves to expand its presence in the world of upscale fashon retailing by increasing its luxury apparel offerings.

Swiss-owned Net-a-porter has been valued at $2 billion euro.

Belk blamed costs associated with strategic initiatives for its drop in profit in the fourth quarter.

The retailer reported a 7.8% decrease in net income to $146.1 million during the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, compared with from $158.5 million in fiscal 2014.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (RH) reported that its profit for the fourth quarter increased a better-than-expected 25% to $42.5 million from $34.0 million in the year-ago period. The upscale home furnishings company cited the West Coast port slowdown in providing first-quarter guidance that fell short of projections. But it remained upbeat about the long-term, and disclosed that it is working on two new concepts that will be revealed later this year.  

New York -- There is no let up of bad news for American Apparel. The company’s founder and ousted CEO, Dov Charney, plans to file a lawsuit claiming $40 million in damages related to breaches of his employment contract.

The disclosure came on the heels of news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Charney’s departure.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack is reportedly asking a bankruptcy court to approve a roughly $160 million bod from Standard General LP that would keep 1,743 stores of the retailer’s roughly 4,000 stores open. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Standard General bid also the backing of the official committee of RadioShack’s unsecured creditors.

Aldi's pace of growth is about to quicken now that its acquisition of Delhaize Group's Bottom Dollar Food store locations is complete.

The retailer announced it has completed its purchase of 66 real estate assets from the Delhaize Group. The transaction includes the land, buildings and leasehold improvements associated with Delhaize's recently retired Bottom Dollar Food operation.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. credited strong holiday sales for helping to boost net income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 8% to $104.4 million from $96.3 million the same period a year earlier.

 Net sales rose 5% to $1.39 billion from $1.32 billion, driven by a 2.4% increase in same-store sales and 42% surge in online sales.

The sports retail market has been strong for Foot Locker and similar retailers, but not for Finish Line, which reported a drop in holiday quarter profit.