Finance & Capital Management

Los Angeles -- Sporting goods chain Sport Chalet reported Thursday that it swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter of $0.3 million, from a net loss of $0.3 million in the year-ago period.

Sales increased 8.8% to $98.2 million. Same-store sales edged up 1.3%.

The fourth quarter profit was the chain’s first in 13 quarters.
ff and service, and store facility. 

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said its same-store sales role 5.6% in May, better than Wall Street expected.

Walgreen said pharmacy revenue from those stores rose 6.7% as it filled 7.1% more prescriptions. Front-end same-store sales grew 3.6%.

The company also said it completed its acquisition of Drugstore.com, an online health and beauty retailer. Walgreen agreed to buy the company in March for $429 million.

Ankeny, Iowa -- Casey’s General Stores and Kum & Go announced that they have signed a definitive purchase agreement for Casey’s to acquire 22 convenience stores from Kum & Go.

The stores, all of which are located in Iowan, will be immediately rebranded to Casey’s once the transaction is completed.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores on Friday morning kicked off its annual shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., by announcing a $15 billion stock buyback.

Among the early speakers was Doug McMillon, chief of Wal-Mart Stores' international division, who told the audience that the chain is building sales around the world by using the same retailing style that company founder Sam Walton developed.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred's on Thursday reported sales of $143.5 million for the four weeks ended May 28, up 1%. Comparable-store sales for the month rose 0.2%, compared with an increase of 3.5% in the same period last year.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports reported that comparable-store sales for the first quarter ended May 28 increased 10.2% versus last year’s increase of 14.3%. Total sales for the quarter improved to $335 million compared to $306 million in the year-ago quarter. 

The comparable store sales increases for the first quarter were driven by increases in traffic, conversion rate and average ticket, the company reported.

The company said it expects first-quarter earnings per share to be 11 cents to 12 cents.

BENSALEM, Pa. — Charming Shoppes reported that consolidated net sales for the first quarter ended April 30 were $504.4 million, compared with $504.8 million for the three months ended May 1, 2010. Net sales results included a 2% increase in comparable-store sales and an increase in e-commerce sales, offset by the impact of operating 139 (or 7%) fewer stores than in the year-ago period. E-commerce sales increased to $36.6 million in the first quarter, compared with $31.6 million in the year-ago period.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. and WESTBOROUGH, Mass.  — Costco Wholesale and BJ’s Wholesale reported strong sales growth and produced impressive comps even without the benefit of fuel sales.

Costco reported that net sales for the month of May increased 17% to $7.14 billion from $6.09 billion last year. This year’s May results period included sales from the company's Mexico joint venture. If these sales are excluded, Costco’s net sales increase would have been 14%.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target reported a 2.8% same-store sales increase for May, falling short of Wall Street's expectation for a 3.5% increase, as consumers remained cautious. The retailer reported that net sales for the four-week period were $4.8 billion, an increase of 3.8%t from $4.6 billion for the four weeks ended May 29, 2010. 

 NEW YORK  — A sluggish economy, cool weather and high prices at the pump tempered retail sales in May, as retailers reported mixed results for the month. Retail Metrics projected an increase of 5.1% for the 25 chains tracked, which would mark the 21st straight monthly gain from September 2009.

Retailers who turned in strong performances in May included Macy’s, with a 7.4% rise in same-store sales when a 5.6% increase was expected. The company lifted its full-year same-stores sales estimate.