Finance & Capital Management

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Frozen shipping logistics solutions provider Cryoport has elected Edward J. Zecchini to its board of directors. 

Zecchini has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare and information technology industries. With this appointment, the Cryoport board now has four members, of whom three are independent directors, including Zecchini.

Bolinbrook, Ill. -- Ulta Beauty reported that its second quarter net income rose 28.3% to $44.9 million, compared with $35 million in the year-ago period.

The company posted a 24.8% boost in second quarter net sales as CEO Mary Dillon outlined some of the key priorities for her first 100 days at the helm of the beauty retailer. Dillon, a former PepsiCo executive, joined the company as CEO on July 1. She succeeded Chuck Rubin, who left the company to become CEO at Michaels Stores.

Twitter is going public and announced its intention to file for an IPO with a tweet.

“We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO,” stated the tweet. “This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.”

Plano, Texas – Rent-A-Center is opening a new store at 1611 Blue Hill Avenue in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston today.

Rent-A-Center operates 70 locations in the state of Massachusetts and more than 3,000 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico. The company employs more than 21,000 workers.

Monrovia, Calif. – Trader Joe’s will reportedly stop offering health benefits to part-time employees next year.

According to Bloomberg, employees who work less than 30 hours per week will no longer be eligible for corporate health benefits as of Jan. 1, 2014. That date is when the U.S, Affordable Care Act mandates employers start offering all full-time workers affordable coverage.

Washington, D.C. -- Retail sales increased in the month of August but came in at a much slower pace than anticipated.

According to the National Retail Federation, August retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.1% seasonally adjusted from last month, and increased 3.9% unadjusted year-over-year.

As the winter season approaches, Burlington Coat Factory experienced overall sales growth that led to a comparative store sales increase of 7.8% for the second quarter ended Aug. 3.

Total net sales increased 11.5% to $963.7 million for the months quarter compared with last year.

“We are proud of our second quarter results including 11.5% overall sales growth and, most important, our 7.8% comparative store sales increase. I would like to thank our store and corporate teams for contributing to these results,” said Tom Kingsbury, president and CEO. 

New York -- In the final hours of its 2013 regular session, the legislature in California voted to approve a bill that would raise the minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10 an hour within three years. Gov. Jerry Brown has indicated he would sign the bill into law, saying "The minimum wage has not kept pace with rising costs. This legislation is overdue and will help families that are struggling in this harsh economy."