Finance & Capital Management

With plans to more than double its 200,000 global workforce in the foreseeable future, Starbucks is making a push to hire veterans and active duty spouses, much like other retailers like Walmart and Home Depot.

In addition, a store in Lakewood, Wash., and a store in San Antonio, Texas, will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with nonprofit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the United States.

Meijer wraps up its 2013 growth strategy with the opening of a huge supercenter in Danville, Ill., this week. The 190, 000-sq.-ft. store is the last of six new stores the retailer has opened this year in the Midwest, which represents its most aggressive expansion in recent history.

HSNi reported impressive financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income soared about 137% to $42 million, compared to $17.7 million in the same quarter a year prior.

In addition, net sales grew almost 3%, to $789.9 million from $778.8 million. The elimination of a roughly $18 million loss related to debt extinguishment recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 drove much of the quarterly net income growth. Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, also cited digital and mobile growth as boosting the company’s overall performance.

Kmart is planning to roll out lease-to-own financing at stores nationwide ahead of the holiday season. The retailer began testing the program in mid-October and plans to make it available in all stores by Nov. 22.

Customers will be able to take home items priced at $150 and more for no credit, including appliances, mattresses, furniture, lawn and garden equipment, consumer electronics, service plans and others. To qualify, customers must be at least 18 years old, earn at least $1,000 per month and supply a social security or tax identification number when applying.

Lover.ly, a wedding inspiration and shopping site, has appointed founder of Nordstrom.com Bob Schwartz as the company’s first chairman.

As chairman, Schwartz will work closely with founder and CEO Kellee Khalil and the Lover.ly executive team to help shape the company’s long-term strategic growth, business and partnership development, capital strategy and build out Lover.ly’s brand and product pipelines.

Port Washington, Wis. -- Upscale men’s shoemaker Allen Edmonds Corp. has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles based private equity firm. Terms of the transaction weren't immediately disclosed.

Brentwood will take over the company from Minneapolis-based Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, which bought Allen Edmonds in 2006.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS Caremark Corp. on Tuesday raised its profit forecast for the year on Tuesday, amid better-than-expected profit. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 3013, grew 25% to $1.25 billion, compared to $1 billion in the same quarter the prior year.

Net revenues rose 5.8% to $32 billion compared with the year-ago period.

Mason, Ohio – Pearle Vision plans to convert four of its stores in Orlando, Fla., from company-owned to licensees. Pearle Vision is currently seeking qualified candidates who are interested in owning and operating a Pearle Vision store to purchase four existing locations for sale in Orlando.

North Bergen, N.J. – Vitamin Shoppe reported net income of $16.3 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2013, flat with the same quarter in the prior year. The retailer also reported a 14% increase in total net sales, to $272.5 million from $239 million, as well as a 2.6% jump in same-store sales.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens had October sales of $6.37 billion, an increase of 6.1% from $6 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013. Same-store sales improved 5.8%.

Calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.3%age point, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.7%age point. Walgreens opened 14 stores during October, including four relocations, and closed two.