Finance & Capital Management

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos Inc. said Thursday that its Retail Labor Index for May, which characterizes the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, rose to 4.1%. (This index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred).

The May reading of the Retail Labor Index reflected a moderate decline in hiring outpaced by a sharp drop in applications.


New York -- Amazon.com Inc. will begin collecting 7% sales tax from New Jersey residents starting in July 2013. The online giant announced the agreenment on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J.  It also announced it will build two distribution centers in New Jersey.

Each warehouse will measure about one million square feet. The centers will create a projected 1,500 full-time jobs and would enable the state of New Jersey to collect an estimated $30 to $40 million in tax revenue.

New York -- J. Crew Group recorded a boost in first-quarter net income on strong sales. Profits nearly doubled to $30.7 million in the quarter ended April 28, from $16.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue grew 23% to $503.5 million, with same-store sales increasing 16%. Store sales were up 26% to $354 million, while direct sales grew 19% to $143.4 million.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Pier 1 reported that same-store sales rose 7.2% in the first quarter, helped by strong holiday assortments. First-quarter revenue was up 8% to $361 million, beating Wall Street's estimate of $360.7 million.

President and CEO Alex Smith said Thursday that the shoppers have been buying the retailer's Easter, spring, Mother's Day and Memorial Day products.

Hingham, Mass. -- After announcing that talks between private equity firm Sycamore Partners and Talbots had ended, then issuing an update that negotiations had resumed but without exclusivity, the pair said Thursday that a deal has been struck.

Sycamore Partners is acquiring the apparel retailer for approximately $193.3 million, according to Thursday’s announcement.

Including debt, the deal is valued at close to $369 million.

New York -- With only a few exceptions, retailers are posting solid gains in May, with such chains as Target, TJX, Ross and TJX Cos. beating Wall Street forecasts for the month. The Thomson Reuters Same-Store Index, which tracks the stores that release monthly sales reports, is expected to rise 3.6% in May.

"Analysts are taking a careful approach to May same-store sales given the cautious tone issued by most retailers on second-quarter earnings guidance," said Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics, in a research report.

New York -- When Macy’s reported a 4.2% May same-store sales gain on Wednesday, ahead of the rest of the pack, analysts wondered whether that would set the tone for the rest of the department store players. It did — and it didn’t.

New York -- Target and TJX Cos. both reported better-than-expected results in May, with a 4.4% and an 8% increase in same-store sales, respectively. Wall Street expected Target same-store sales to be up 3.5% in May and forecasted TJX sales to rise 5.3%.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — May sales at Fred's Inc. increased 6% to $152.1 million from $143.6 million in May 2011. Comparable-store sales for the month rose 1.3% compared with an increase of 0.2% in the same period last year.

Fred's total sales for the first four months of fiscal 2012 increased 4% to $652.6 million compared with $628 million for the same period last year. On a comparable-store basis, year-to-date sales increased 0.1% on top of an increase of 0.8% in the same period last year.

PHILADELPHIA — Pep Boys has put an end to the proposed merger between itself and investment firm The Gores Group.

The potential merger was first announced on Jan. 30, and The Gores Group has agreed to pay Pep Boys a fee of $50 million and to reimburse Pep Boys for certain merger-related expenses. The special meeting of Pep Boys’ shareholders, which was scheduled to be held on May 30, has been canceled.