Finance & Capital Management

  San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. surpassed Wall Street expectations with its profit and sales results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Earnings per share increased 17% to $0.68 from $0.58 in the same quarter the previous fiscal year.   Retail net revenues increased 3% to $556 million from $540 million, primarily driven by West Elm and Pottery Barn, partially offset by a decrease in Williams-Sonoma due to eight fewer stores  

Columbus, Ohio – L Brands Inc. beat Wall Street projections with net income of $131.8 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2014, up 43% from $91.99 million the same period the prior fiscal year. A boost in pretax income helped drive L Brands’ impressive profit growth.   Net sales rose 7% to $2.32 billion from $2.17 billion, and same-store sales increased 5%. 

  NEW YORK - Senior middle-market retail executives are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming holiday season.  Fifty-five percent of executives anticipate their total holiday sales will increase by 6% or more in 2014, as compared to only a third last year, according to an annual study conducted by CIT Group.  

New York - Gap Inc.'s incoming CEO, Abe Peck, is wasting no time putting his own stamp on the company, naming new presidents for the Gap and Banana Republic brands. Jeff Kirwan, 48, has been tapped to replace Stephen Sunnucks as global president for  Gap. And Owen, 49, will succeed Jack Calhoun on Jan. 5 as global president for Banana Republic.    

Incoming Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck announced key members of his global team in conjunction with the release of mixed third quarter results.

Peck is scheduled to replace Gap Inc. CEO Glenn Murphy in February and late Thursday he named new global brand presidents for Gap and Banana Republic.

Best Buy shared an optimistic view of the holiday season after posting a 3.2% third quarter comp increase at U.S. stores, but offered plenty of reasons why profitability could prove challenging.

Irving, Texas - Net income increased 36% to $64 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to $47 million in the same quarter last year at The Michaels Companies. A decrease in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped boost profits. Net sales increased by 1% to $1.13 billion from $1.12 billion, while same-store sales decreased by 0.8%. Michaels plans to open two new stores in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.

Jacksonville, Fla. – Increased selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped drive Stein Mart Inc. to a net loss of $1.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net income of $28,000 in the same quarter a year earlier. Despite this push into the red, Stein Mart plans to open open at least 10 new stores and relocate two stores in 2015, as well as close two stores.