Finance & Capital Management

Seattle — Amazon.com increased net sales an impressive 22% during the second quarter of fiscal 2013. But the Internet retailing giant reported a net loss of $7 million due to operating expenses and investments in warehouses, digital content and other areas, compared with net income of $7 million in the year-ago period.

Seattle — Starbucks Corp. reported strong results for third quarter fiscal 2013, with net revenues, same-store sales and operating income all increasing substantially from the same quarter a year earlier.

Net earnings grew 25%, from $333.1 million to $417.8 million.

Net revenues totaled about $3.7 billion, up 13% from $3.3 billion. Same-store sales increased 8% globally, driven by 9% growth in U.S. stores.

New York – The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), which exited bankruptcy last year, is reportedly looking to sell itself. A report in the Wall Street Journal indicates that an internally distributed company memo from A&P chairman Gregory Mays to store managers states a sale of A&P is one of several options for funding growth, along with raising capital and refinancing.

St. Louis — Build-A-Bear Workshop narrowed its second-quarter loss to $6.2 million from $7.5 million in the year-ago period, boosted by improved sales and store productivity.

Total revenues were $81.9 million , up 1.9% from the $80.4 million reported in the second quarter of 2012.  Same-store sales rose 7.3%, including an 8.6% increase in North America and 1.7% increase in Europe. E-commerce sales rose 5.2%.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Bernstein Liebhard has filed a securities class-action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those who purchased shares of Kohl's Corp. between Feb. 26, 2009. and Sept. 13, 2011.

Walmart.com is already a large, fast growing and dynamic organization, but global e-commerce president and CEO Neil Ashe is intent on executing an integrated vision of commerce that no one else has — or can.
 

Walmart has opened its first supercenter in Canada’s eastern Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The retailer, which has operated in Canada for nearly two decades, plans to invest $90 million this year in the renovation and expansion of nine locations in New Brunswick and Novia Scotia.

MONTVALE, N.J. — The Wall Street Journal reported that grocer A&P, which emerged from bankruptcy about a year ago, is up for sale, according to an internal memo the publication obtained.

The WSJ reports that the memo, sent by chairman Gregory Mays and circulating to employees, outlines several options for the company to fund its growth, including raising capital and refinancing. The memo also states that a sale of the company is possible.

The $575 million acquisition of Maidenform Brands by HanesBrands would create a mass market intimate apparel powerhouse, but not everyone is happy with a sales price that is seen as undervaluing the takeover target.

BOSTON, Mass. — Merchant Warehouse, a leading innovator of payment technologies and merchant account services, has appointed Russell Harty as SVP of the company's key accounts and partner channel.

Harty, who boasts more than 20 years in the payments industry, will be charged with evaluating and adding new partners and expanding the footprint of Merchant Warehouse solutions, including the Genius Customer Engagement Platform, with partners, value-added resellers and key accounts.