Finance & Capital Management

New York -- Aeropostale Inc. on Monday narrowed its fourth-quarter loss forecast on better than expected sales, margins, and expense management in January, and announced two executive appointments.  

Chesapeake, Va. - Dollar Tree Inc. is arranging financing for its pending acquisition of Family Dollar Stores Inc. To that end, Dollar Tree has priced a private offering of $$2.5 billion of senior notes due 2023 and $750 million of senior notes due 2020. The 2023 notes will bear an annual interest rate of 5.75% and the 2020 notes will bear an annual interest rate of 5.25%.

Dollar Tree has also arranged for a $1 billion term loan with interest of LIBOR plus 2.25% and a $3.95 billion term loan with interest of LIBOR (subject to a 0.75% floor) plus 3.5%.

Washington, D.C. - Retail industry employment increased by 34,800 jobs in January 2015, as retailers held on and even added to their staffs following the holiday shopping season. According to data from the National Retail Federation, monthly gains occurred in the sporting goods, non-store (e-commerce), and general merchandise store verticals.

Total retail employment increased by 215,600 jobs on a year-to-year basis, according to NRF’s calculations, which do not include automobile dealerships, gasoline stations or restaurants.

For Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21, the journey from a single location on Figueroa Street in L.A. in 1984 to more than 680 global locations today has been transformative. Over the last three decades, the brand has not shied away from innovation and experimentation, implementing a range of different store sizes and concepts along the way: from smaller 5,000-sq.-ft. layouts in its early years, to larger 9,000-sq.-ft. concepts in the 2000s and a range of big-box stores that range up to 40,000 sq. ft.

New York -- Forever 21 opened a 36,000-sq.-ft. store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, joining such other fast-fashion retailers already in the neighborhood as Uniqlo, H&M and TopShop.  

The four-level space houses all of retailer’s collections under one roof, including Forever 21 Men. The store is located in a building that formerly housed an H&M store, which closed in December when the retailer moved to a different location on Fifth and 48th Streets.

New York -- West Coast port congestion issues could cost retailers as much as $7 billion this year, according to an analysis by Kurt Salmon. Work stoppage threats and major trade associations’ calls for federal intervention have retailers and consumer products companies on high alert.
 

Gap Inc. is raising its profit guidance based on its fourth-quarter sales and reduced taxes.

The retailer says it expects to report a profit of $2.86 to $2.87 per share for the year, up from its previous estimate of $2.73 to $2.78 per share. Analysts expected $2.74 per share on average.

The San Francisco company says its total fourth-quarter sales grew 3% to $4.71 billion compared with $4.58 billion for the fourth quarter last year.

Phoenix – Same-store sales rose 2.6% at PetSmart Inc. during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Average ticket increased 2%, and same-store transactions increased 0.6%.