Finance & Capital Management

Atlanta - Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. (ARG), franchisor of Arby’s, has signed development agreements with new and existing franchisees. ARG recently sold 14 company-operated restaurants in Tampa, Fla., to Mosaic Investments Inc., a fully integrated investment firm based in Atlanta. In addition to remodeling existing locations slated to commence at the end of 2014, Mosaic has committed to build 13 new Arby's restaurants in the Tampa area during the next nine years.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s Corp. reported net income of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, a 5.5% decline from $1.27 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Total revenues grew 1% to $6.7 billion, from $6.2 billion.

Bebe Stores is updating its net loss per share guidance for the third quarter ended April 5 based on its preliminary financial results.

Comparable store sales for the quarter decreased approximately 5.7%. Net sales were approximately $93 million, a decrease of 17.2% from $113 million reported for the third quarter a year ago. The company said the sales decrease was due partially to one fewer retail week in January in the current fiscal year coupled with the closure of 19 unproductive stores since the prior year third fiscal quarter.

Atlanta — JLL has announced the closing of the sale of Market Square at Montrose on behalf of LaSalle Investment Management to HP Realty LLC. Purchased for $32.5 million, the 510,231-sq.-ft. retail center hosts anchors Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Levin Furniture, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Regal Cinemas, Toys “R” Us and Cost Plus World Market.

“Akron and similar cities are back in favor with investors,” commented Kris Cooper, a JLL managing director.

Plano, Texas – Rent-A-Center Inc. reported declining net earnings for first quarter 2014, even as revenues slightly grew. The company said it plans to optimize its U.S. store footprint by consolidating about 150 stores into existing stores by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

Net earnings fell 37% to $28.9 million from $46.1 million, while total revenues increased 1.8% to $833.7 million from $819.3 million. Same-store sales dropped 0.8%.

The recent announcement from Coldwater Creek that the women’s apparel brand will seek Chapter 11 protection and plans to start liquidating its inventory didn’t exactly come as a surprise. It has been years since the company posted a quarterly profit, and industry analysts and observers have been pointing to Coldwater’s worrying inability to compete stylistically in an increasingly competitive and youth-oriented women’s fashion market.

Troy Risch resigned his position EVP of store operations at RadioShack the company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

ChannelAdvisor, a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions, has promoted Ryan Walsh to chief revenue officer.

"Ryan's contributions to the company have been extraordinary for over a decade, and in recent years he has been a key architect of our accelerating growth story," said David Spitz, ChannelAdvisor president and COO. "I’m pleased to recognize Ryan’s talents with this promotion, and as we scale our sales organization globally, I’m confident that Ryan’s leadership will continue to serve us well."