Finance & Capital Management

Pittsburgh -- Dick's Sporting Goods has agreed to make a 20 million pound investment ($31.75 million) in U.K. sports retailer JJB Sports plc, which operates over 180 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Dick's will purchase 18.75 million pounds ($29.76 million) in junior secured convertible notes and 1.25 million pounds ($1.98 million) in ordinary shares of JJB Sports. The transaction is subject to approval of the British company's shareholders.

March was a good month for retailers overall, as an early spring brought out shoppers looking for seasonal merchandise earlier than they typically would. Last month was the warmest March in North America in more than 50 years, according to weather data provider Planalytics. 

Target, TJX and Ross Stores all reported stronger-than-expected March sales.

Atlanta -- InComm, a leading third-party gift card provider, is following the example of American Express and is pulling out of New Jersey, effective June 30, rather than comply with changes in the unclaimed property law.

InComm supplies some 2,500 retail locations throughout New Jersey with cards for such brands as Visa, iTunes, Macy's, Subway, Chili's, and Lord & Taylor. InComm also announced the removal of its Vanilla Visa Gift Card and Vanilla MasterCard Gift Card products from the state.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Bed Bath and Beyond may dominate the housewares retail space, but that isn't stopping companies like Pier 1 Imports from trying to take a bigger share.  In that vein, Pier 1 announced a new three-year growth plan commencing in fiscal 2013, as well as updated financial goals. According to the company, the new board-approved plan is designed to drive profitable top and bottom-line growth, expand market share and increase shareholder value as the company evolves into a multi-channel retailer.

For the second month in a row Target’s same-store sales were nearly double the expected amount and the company increased its first quarter guidance as a result.

Same-store sales increased 7.3%, with half of the increase driven by growth in average transaction size combined with an increase in comparable-store transactions. Overall comparable-store sales in March 2011 decreased 5.5%.

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s profit in the fourth quarter rose to $351.0 million, from $283.5 million a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 25 increased 9.1% to $2.73 billion. Same-store sales were up 6.8%.

In a conference call with analysts, the chain said it anticipates opening a total of 40 stores across all its concepts this fiscal year.
 

For the second month in a row Target’s same-store sales were nearly double the expected amount and the company increased its first quarter guidance as a result.

Same-store sales increased 7.3%, with half of the increase driven by growth in average transaction size combined with an increase in comparable-store transactions. Overall comparable-store sales in March 2011 decreased 5.5%.

New York -- The ax has fallen at J.C. Penney Co. The company on Thursday laid off 600 workers from its corporate headquarters Plano, Texas, as its looks to streamline its business model amid a major reinvention of the business. The staff reduction, which equaled 13% to 14% of the headquarters staff, did not include any senior executives, according to The New York Times.