Finance & Capital Management

Spanx has named Jan Singer as CEO, reporting to founder and owner of the company, Sara Blakely.

Interim CEO Gregg Ribatt will assist Singer through a transition period, and then continue to serve on the company’s board of advisers. Singer is expected to join the company officially in early July.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid’s same-store sales rose 3.5% in May, boosted by a healthy increase in Rx sales.

The chain’s front-end same store sales increased 0.5%. Pharmacy same-store sales increased 5.0%. Total drugstore sales for the five-week period increased 2.5% to $2.48 billion, compared with $2.42 billion for the same period last year.

Prescription sales accounted for 68.0% of drug store sales, and third party prescription sales represented 97.4% of pharmacy sales.

Persistent winter weather took a bite out of Stein Mart’s net income in the first quarter, but the retailer rallied once the weather improved. It closed the quarter with total and comparable-store sales increases, and the upward trend has continued through May.

The company reported total sales for the four-week period ended May 31 of $109.6 million, a 2.2% increase over total sales of $107.3 million for the four-week period ended June 1 last year. Comparable store sales for the month increased 0.4% from comparable store sales for the same month last year.

Store closings are hardly an infrequent topic in this space. As a barometer for both the performance of individual brands and the market at large, they are an important part of the equation for any retail analyst. Store closings are part of healthy portfolio management for any brand, and, on a larger scale, bankruptcies and reorganizations are a reflection of the market at work.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack is partnering with hardware manufacturer and accelerator PCH International to create RadioShack Labs, a collaboration to help inventors and start-ups bring their products direct to the market — and hopefully boost store traffic. As part of the agreement, the retailer will open dedicated areas in RadioShack stores that feature new and innovative products from startups. The shops will utilize a direct-to-store model for select products, reducing inventory requirements and increasing inventory turn in the stores.  

Although comparable-store sales at Fred’s declined slightly in May, the company said sales strengthened in the last week of the month thanks to the first ad in its new marketing and branding program, designed to increase traffic and heighten customer awareness of category diversity.

The company’s total sales for the month stayed flat at $151.9 million, compared with $152.3 million in May last year. Comparable-store sales for the month declined 0.4% compared with a 0.5% decrease in the same period last year.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp. was among the retailers who topped sales expectations in May as warmer weather encouraged consumers to go out and shop.

Costco’s same-store sales rose 6% in May, with a 6% rise in U.S. sales and a 4% increase in international sales, better than analysts had expected.

At L Brands, owner of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, same-store sales were up 3 in May, better than projections. Total revenue for the month rose 4% to $763.6 million.

RadioShack has launched RadioShack Labs to support inventors and startups and boost new product innovation, offering a roadmap that takes them from concept to production to distribution.

The company teamed up with PCH, a respected leader in product innovation, to launch the labs. As part of the relationship, RadioShack intends to offer select PCH Access companies special retail terms, and create a direct path to up to 2,000 RadioShack stores and preferred positioning on radioshack.com.