Finance & Capital Management

New York -- Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed a controversial bill that would have required Wal-Mart Stores and other large retailers to pay their employees at least $12.50 an hour. The bill applied only to retailers with stores of 75,000 sq. ft. or larger, at least $1 billion in annual sales and non-unionized workforces.

Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon prefaced his comments at the Goldman Sach Global Retailing Conference by saying he wouldn’t have much to say. That proved to not be the case as Simon said a lot about a wide range of subjects.
 

Davenport, Iowa -- Von Maur Department Stores will open its first location in the Northeast, at Eastview Mall in Victor, N.Y., which is located just outside of Rochester. The two-level, 140,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open on Oct. 26.

Located at the mall's former Bon Ton location, the store underwent a complete reconstruction by local contractor LaChase Construction to achieve Von Maur's signature exterior brick façade with arching entryways accented by a copper roof and cupolas.

Lululemon Athletica seems to be putting the recall of its see-through yoga pants earlier this year behind it. The company reported net revenue of $344.5 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 4, a 22% increase from $282.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Comparable stores sales for the quarter increased by 8%.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger C0.’s second-quarter net income rose 14%, helped by lower charges and increased revenue. The supermarket company also lifted the low end of its fiscal 2013 outlook for a key revenue metric.

SANDPOINT — Traffic to specialty retailer Coldwater Creek dropped in July leading to lower-than-expected sales for the second quarter ended Aug. 3. The company is taking several steps, including bringing in a new chief marketing officer, in an attempt to turn things around. 

Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $149.7 million, compared with $163.7 million in second quarter 2012. Net sales from the retail segment were $118.6 million, compared with $129.9 million in the same period last year. 

Columbus, Ohio – Employees at the Victoria’s Secret store in Herald Square, New York City have reportedly won concessions on pay and promotions from the retailer. According to CNNMoney, following a petition effort started by employees at the store in June of this year, Victoria’s Secret agreed to give them pay raises between $1 and $2 per hour and also start promoting employees at the location.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings reported a net loss  of $17.8 million for the second quarter, compared with net income of $17.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier, due to charges linked to stock awards given to chairman and co-CEO Gary Friedman.

Net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 30% to $382.1 million from $292.9 million last year.