Finance & Capital Management

Corte Madera, California — Furniture and housewares retailer Restoration Hardware reported a profit of $1.8 million in the quarter ended May 3, compared with a loss of $161,000 last year. Results topped Wall Street expectations and prompted the company to raise its outlook for the year.

Revenue grew 22% to $366.3 million, from $301.3 million in the year-ago period. Wall Street predicted $346.7 million.
 

Daniel Castle, former Iconix VP of international and business development, will be joining Saban Brands as the company’s managing director of strategic business development.

Lululemon Athletica Inc.'s first-quarter net income plunged 60%, impacted by a one-time tax adjustment. Although its adjusted profit and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations for the quarter, the retailer lowered its full-year earnings forecast.

Lululemon said that CFO John Currie plans to retire by the end of its fiscal year (February 2015).

New York City — Restaurant chain Pret A Manger has leased a 2,577-sq.-ft. shop at 600 Lexington Avenue, a boutique 36-story office tower on East 52nd Street. The new location will bring the chains Manhattan locations to a total of 39.

RKF (www.rkf.com) represented Pret A Manger and the landlord, SL Green Realty Corp. in the transaction. Over the last two years, RKF has arranged a dozen new leases for the chain.

Toys “R” Us reported a 4% same store sales increase during the first quarter, a surprisingly strong figure given the weather related challenges cited by other retailers who experienced weak sales.

Cincinnati — Kroger Co. is reportedly planning to build a $250 million distribution center in the suburban Atlanta area. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, Kroger will open the 1 million-sq.-ft. facility in the suburb of Forest Park, on the site of the former Fort Gillem army base by September 2015.

The distribution center will open with 700 to 900 skilled workers, and eventually employ about 1,500 people. Kroger declined to comment on the report.

Dollarama said that its first-quarter results were adversely affected by challenging weather conditions, but the company reported continued growth in sales and net earnings.

Canada's leading dollar store operator of 899 locations across the country reported sales for the quarter of $501.1 million, an 11.8% increase from $448.1 million in the prior-year periord. The increase in sales was driven by the growth in the number of stores in the past 12 months and strong Easter sales and continued organic sales growth driven by comparable store sales growth of 3.3%.

Despite announcing a $450 million share buyback program in conjunction with its first-quarter results, Lululemon’s shares dropped 10% as it continues trying to regain its footing in an increasingly competitive field.

Net revenue for the quarter increased 11% to $384.6 million from $345.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Sales at stores and online inched up 1%, primarily driven by an online sales increase of 25%, which offset a 4% decrease same-store sales.