Finance & Capital Management

Surging sales at Old Navy helped parent company Gap Inc. post an increase in same store sales for November and December.

Gap’s same store sales for the November and December holiday shopping season increased 3%.

For December alone, the figure rose 1%, slightly above Wall Street estimates for a 0.7% increase, according to Thomson Reuters.

San Diego – PriceSmart Inc. reported mixed results for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, missing Wall Street expectations for net income but exceeding revenue forecasts. Net income totaled $20.65 million, down 4% from $21.43 million.

Higher income taxes and expenses drove the decline in profit. Total revenues fared better, growing 8% to $656 million, from $605.6 million. Same-store sales rose 1.5%.
 

Seattle – In a surprising move, the second in command at Starbucks Corp., COO Troy Alstead, 51, is taking an extended, unpaid leave of absence from the company starting March 1. Alstead, a 23-year Starbucks veteran, is responsible for day-to-day operations of the coffee giant, a position he was appointed to in January 2014. He is widely viewed as a potential successor to CEO Howard Schultz.

Reuters is reporting a new complicating factor in the ongoing saga of efforts by Dollar Tree and Dollar General to buy Family Dollar.

Some 20 state attorneys general have joined the federal antitrust investigation of competing bids by Dollar General Corp. and Dollar Tree Inc. to buy Family Dollar Stores Inc., a development that potentially complicates the companies' efforts to win U.S. approval for a deal.

Read more

Boot Barn’s efforts to expand its footprint may be paying off, as the western wear retailer reported net sales of approximately $130.5 million, compared to net sales of $115.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

E-commerce and Disney’s Frozen helped propel Books-A-Million’s holiday sales over Barnes & Noble’s.

Books-A-Million, the country’s second largest bookstore chain, reported that total sales for the nine-week period ended Jan. 3 were $129.2 million, an increase of 1.1% over the same period a year ago. Same store sales rose 1.2%, but excluding sales of e-reader devices comp sales were up 1.7% in the nine week period compared to the holiday season last year.

Houston – Francesca’s Holding Corp. is still feeling the warmth of the holidays. The retailer is increasing its guidance for fourth quarter sales to between $103 million and $105 million, including a low-single-digit decrease in same-store sales.

Union, N.J. – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for its third quarter net earnings even as they declined from the same quarter in fiscal 2013. Net earnings equaled $225.4 million, a 5% decline from $237.2 million.

An increase in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses was a major factor in the net earnings drop. Net sales rose 3% to $2.94 million, from $2.86 million. Same-store sales rose 1.7%.