Finance & Capital Management

Walmart is set to hold its 18th annual fall analysts’ meeting next week and provide insight into a broad range of growth strategies, domestic turnaround efforts and international expansion. The event is scheduled to last from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Springfield, N.J. -- Village Super Market, which operates 28 supermarkets under the Shop Rite name in the Northeast, reported Thursday that net income for the fourth quarter was $8.8 million, an increase of 14% after backing out the extra week in last year’s fourth quarter.

Without the adjustment, net income fell from $8.9 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose nearly 1% to $345 million from $342.7 million. After excluding the extra week, revenue increased nearly 8%. Same-store sales rose nearly 8% excluding the extra week.

Minneapolis -- Following a disappointing second quarter, Best Buy is looking to reposition itself as a tech leader with plans to hire more than 200 information technology professionals, with more than 100 new positions to be posted in the next several weeks.

Best Buy said Thursday it is looking to recruit skilled professionals from across the IT landscape, including e-commerce, business analytics, application development, engineering and project management.

Washington, D.C. -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence last week capped the worst quarterly performance in more than two years, when the U.S. economy was still in a recession.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 50.2 in the week ended Oct. 2, from the prior period’s minus 53 that was the second-lowest level on record. The gauge averaged minus 48.4 from July through September, the third-worst quarterly reading of all time and the weakest since minus 49.9 in the first three months of 2009.

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. reported Thursday a net loss of $13 million for the quarter ended Aug. 27, compared with a loss of $2.5 million in the year-ago period.

Sales dropped to $96.2 million from $101.3 million, and same-store sales declined 8% during the quarter.

For the second half of fiscal 2012, the retailer said it plans to open approximately eight new stores and close approximately 17 existing stores.

Brisbane, Calif. -- Bebe Stores reported Thursday that revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 1 rose 7.1% to $116 million, missing Wall Street’s expected $124.1 million in sales.

Same-store sales for the quarter rose 7%.

The apparel retailer said it is focused on international growth and expects its international licensees will grow by up to 30 freestanding stores and 30 shops inside department stores in the fiscal year.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports said Thursday it has, through a subsidiary, signed a new, long-term private-label credit card agreement with Alliance Data.

Under terms of the new agreement, Alliance Data, through its bank subsidiary, will provide end-to-end private-label credit card services from account acquisition to multichannel marketing and customer service for Pier 1 Imports.

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a strong September performance, recording a 12% rise in same-store sales for the month.

Target Corp., helped by strong sales of groceries, beauty products and clothing, saw September same-store sales rise 5.3%. Sales for the period rose 6.5% to $5.9 billion.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation predicted an average holiday shopping season. According to the NRF forecast, holiday retail sales for 2011 are expected to increase 2.8% to $465.6 billion. While that growth is far lower than the 5.2% increase retailers experienced last year, it is slightly higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.6%, according to NRF.

New York City -- Macy’s saw same-store sales rise 4.9% in September, and total sales increased 5.3% to $2.298 billion in the five-week period.

“We continued to see a strong sales trend in September at both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s. “Our sales performed well both in stores and online. This underscores that our business remains on track, despite the persistently negative macroeconomic news.”