Finance & Capital Management

First it was sustainability, then came hunger and the affordability of quality food, women’s economic empowerment and now support of U.S. manufacturing. Walmart contends it has a responsibility to lead in these areas and others, but whether it is truly doing so is the subject of some debate.

Plano, Texas – Shares of J.C. Penney Company took a beating on Friday after the retailer priced its $932 million share sale at a 7.4% discount and detailed its shrinking cash position.  

Penney priced its sale of 84 million shares at $9.65, down from a closing price of $10.42 on Thursday.

The new offering should raise more than $800 million. According to Reuters, J.C. Penney, which is valued at $2.6 billion, had been considering issuing new stock shares as well as other unspecified alternatives.

Greenwood Village, Colo. — Red Robin will open a new restaurant in Hagerstown, Md., in late October.

The new restaurant will add to the chains 480 U.S. restaurants located across the U.S. and Canada.

Weather Company chairman and CEO David Kenny has joined the Best Buy board of directors.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. today announced its inaugural listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index-North America.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index-North America tracks the economic, environmental and social sustainability performance of the top 20% of the 600 largest North America-based companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index.

Sales at Indianapolis-based athletic footwear and apparel retailer Finish Line grew 13.3% to $436 million and earnings per share increase 10.2% to 54 cents, nine cents better than analysts forecast for the period ended August 31.

Company chairman and CEO Glenn Lyon characterized the performance as solid, and credited a 0.9% comp increase and expense control for profit growth.

Indianapolis – The Finish Line posted increases in net income, net sales and same-store sales during the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income totaled $26.19 million, up 6.1% from about $24.44 million a year earlier.

Consolidated net sales were $436 million, up 13.3 % from $385 million in the same quarter the previous year. Same-store sales rose 0.9%.

Irvine, Calif. — LA Fitness has announced that it will open its fourth location in San Antonio. Construction of the 45,000-sq.-ft club will begin in the spring of 2014. LA Fitness has over 45 locations throughout Texas, concentrated in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas.

When complete, the new LA Fitness will create approximately 50 new full-time and part-time jobs.