Finance & Capital Management

Deerfield, Ill. – Same-store sales at Walgreen Co. rose 5.2% in July. Walgreens had July sales of $6.39 billion, an increase of 6.1% from $6.02 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Total front-end sales increased 1.4% in July compared with the same month in fiscal 2013, while same-store front-end sales increased 1.1%. Same-store customer traffic decreased 2.6% while basket size increased 3.7%.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot has raised its full-year adjusted operating income forecast as cost savings from the closure of some U.S. stores related to its acquisition of OfficeMax are expected to be higher than previously anticipated. As previously announced, Office Depot plans to close at least 400 stores by the end of 2016, with about 165 closures in 2014.

North Bergen, N.J. – Vitamin Shoppe Inc. reported net income of $16.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 8% from $18.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Expenses related to Vitamin Shoppe’s March 2013 purchase of Super Supplements chain helped reduce the retailer’s net income.

As today’s healthcare market continues to evolve, CVS Caremark’s portfolio of enterprise assets is enabling the company to provide innovative solutions and products that are delivering results, as evidenced by its “strong” second-quarter results released Tuesday morning.

Target Corp. is running a Q&A with its new chairman and CEO, Brian Cornell, on its in-house, behind-the-scenes blog, A Bullseye View. The interview was conducted by the Bullseye View team.

You are the first CEO who has been hired from outside of Target. What are the benefits of coming in from the outside? What will be some of the challenges?

Walgreens has appointed Timothy McLevish as Walgreens EVP and CFO. He will report to president and CEO Greg Wasson, and lead all of Walgreens’ finance functions as the company prepares to move forward with the proposed second step of its strategic partnership with Alliance Boots.
 

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd’s first-quarter net income surged 50% amid strong sales overseas. The luxury retailer earned a better-than-expected $187.7 million for the three months ended June 28, up from $125 million from a year ago.

Net sales jumped 44% to $887 million. Total revenue — which includes licensing revenue — climbed 43% to $919.2 million. Global same-store sales for the quarter rose 24.2%.

Sandra Gudat, President & CEO, Customer Communications Group

Retailers often have trouble balancing their overall promotions plan with offers and discounts for their loyalty program. In fact, it may be enough of an issue that they keep loyalty as an independent P&L entity, or even steer clear of loyalty altogether to avoid the problem. After all, every retail business is about profit, and adding another layer of promotional discounts into the mix could be seen as a threat to the bottom line.