Finance & Capital Management

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. is reportedly considering the step of taking itself private. According to Reuters, Dick’s is in the preliminary stages of conversations with several buyout firms.

However, there is currently no formal plan to sell the company and Dick’s may not ultimately move forward with the plan. In the third quarter of fiscal 2014, Dick’s reported a 9% increase in net sales but 2% drop in net income. The company declined to comment.

Karenann Terrell, Walmart’s Chief Information Officer, is among a distinguished group of female executives singled out by Retailing Today sister publication Chain Store Age as The Top 10 Women in Tech.

Matthews, N.C. – Higher sales of discounted, low-margin items did not necessarily add up to a happy holiday season for Family Dollar Stores Inc. The company missed Wall Street expectations for both net income and net sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2015, even as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar both continue making preparations for a multi-billion-dollar takeover this year.

Barnes and Noble Inc. saw a sharp decline in holiday sales in its Nook e-reader division, even as its retail segment showed small improvement.

The Nook segment (including digital content, devices and accessories), had sales of $56 million for the nine-week holiday period, decreasing 55% as compared to a year ago. Device and accessories sales were $28.5 million, a decrease of 68%. Digital content sales were $27.4 million, a decline of 25%.

Barnes & Noble is expected to spin off the Nook segment into a separate business in March.

Seattle --  A Seattle-based flash sales site may just be sputtering overseas, as a Forbes report on Thursday said that Zulily may shutter its United Kingdom operations, which currently serve as the concept’s first and only international office. According to Zulily CEO Darrell Cavens in a Forbes interview, changes in the apparel flash site’s international focus has led the company to consider its options.  

The 2014 holiday season was a perky one at L Brands, as sales increased beyond expectations in December.

The parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works reported that same store sales across the company increased by 4% for the month. Wall Street analysts had been predicting a 3.6% increase.

Milwaukee -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of a 4,991-sq.-ft. multi-tenant retail building within the Underwood Crossings development, a 175,000-sq.-ft. retail center located in Brookfield (Milwaukee MSA), Wisconsin. A private investor purchased the property for $1.7 million.

Regional discounter Fred’s strong pharmacy sales weren’t enough to help the company avert a 1.4 percent same store sales decline for the month.