Finance & Capital Management

Minneapolis - The Tile Shop will expand its presence by 20 stores to 108 locations by the end of 2014, and also remodel 15 to 20 locations.

“Through our store layout and sales associates, who offer project planning, design counsel, tile recommendations and installation guidance, we are able to meaningfully connect with our customers and meet their individual project needs with affordable tile and natural stone products, building a foundation for an ongoing relationship,” said Carl Randazzo, senior VP of retail for The Tile Shop.

Kellogg Company said that its first-quarter results for earnings per share were greater than the company's expectations, while results for operating profit were in-line with expectations, thanks in part to Project K — the company’s global cost-cutting initiative.

Net sales for the quarter decreased 3.1% to $3.7 billion. Internal net sales, which exclude the effects of foreign currency translation, acquisitions, dispositions and integration costs, decreased 2.4% over the same period.  

Fort Worth, Texas – Pier 1 Imports (U.S.) Inc., a subsidiary of Pier 1 Imports Inc., has completed the amendment of its $350 million senior secured revolving credit facility and syndicated and closed a previously announced $200 million seven-year senior secured term loan B.

Proceeds from the $200 million term loan are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including, among other things, working capital needs, capital expenditures, cash dividends and repurchases of the company’s common stock.

Nearly two months after Sears set it free, Lands' End has named Steven Rado as SVP, chief marketing officer.

Rado will guide a team of 50 professionals across marketing operations including consumer insights, forecasting and analytics, catalog, digital marketing, customer acquisition, e-commerce, public relations and advertising.

St. Louis - Build-A-Bear Workshop has reached an agreement with Horizon Toy Company of Turkey as a new international franchisee. The first Build-A-Bear Workshop store in Turkey is expected to open in Mall of Istanbul in June 2014.

With the store opening in Turkey, Build-A-Bear Workshop will now operate in 15 countries through franchisees. Those countries include Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

An expected shift in Easter-related product shipments affected Kraft Foods Group in the first quarter of 2014.

"We continued to make steady progress during the first quarter of this year," said CEO Tony Vernon, who remained positive. "We still have more work to do, but we're confident that our focus on brand renovation, marketing excellence and total cost management will drive the profitable growth that both we and our shareholders expect."

New York -- A bid to raise the federal minimum wage was rejected by Republicans in the Senate, who blocked legislation Wednesday to boost the rate to $10.10 an hour. Senators predominantly voted across party lines, which places Democratic senators in favor and Republican senators opposed.

The defeat was expected, and it is expected to serve as a rallying cry for Democrats preparing their next campaign.

In an era of Big Data, retailers are finding new ways to leverage that information to improve processes and consumer engagement. However, there’s one area where Big Data can have a big impact that companies in the retail space may be missing: real estate.

Mark Ledbetter, global VP retail strategy for SAP, recently spoke with Chain Store Age about the promise of Big Data for retail real estate, and how retailers can best take advantage of it.

Where does retail real estate data originate?