Finance & Capital Management

Lowe’s second-quarter financial report was a disappointment to the company’s executives, who made no excuses for the retailer’s poor showing. Earnings were down slightly, revenues grew by only 1.3%, and comp-store sales were essentially flat. “Even after taking into account the challenges of the macro-environment, we are still not pleased with our performance this year,” said chairman and CEO Robert Niblock, speaking at an analysts’ conference call on Aug. 15.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble said Tuesday it narrowed its net loss in its fiscal first quarter as sales of its Nook e-book reader and e-books helped offset lower physical book sales. The chain, which recently received a $204 million investment from former suitor Liberty Media, said sales of Nooks, e-books and magazines and other digital content and accessories, rose 140% to $227 million during the quarter.

Encino, Calif. -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has promoted Brian S. Munn to the position of VP investments in the company’s Atlanta office.  Most recently, Munn held the position of senior associate.

The company also announced that it has promoted Kyle B. Matthews to the position of VP investments in its Encino, Calif., office. Most recently, Matthews held the position of associate VP investments.
 
 

New York City -- A bankruptcy judge gave Books-A-Million the nod Monday to take over the leases of 14 Borders Group stores for just under $1 million.

The stores are located mostly on the East Coast, and Books-A-Million is expected to take over the leases effective Sept. 20.
 

It’s been one extreme or another the past few weeks in the retail world. First, luxury retailers Tiffany and Saks reported strong sales and profits and then on Tuesday Dollar General results showed the low-end consumers have some spending power and a taste for its brand of discount retail.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Inflationary increases, sales growth at remodeled stores and a boost from fuelperks! helped drive up Winn-Dixie's second quarter identical-store sales, while net sales dipped.

According to Winn-Dixie's chief Peter Lynch, Winn-Dixie is riding a strong headwind into fiscal 2012 powered by a number of influencers — a marketing program that better sustains margins, its loyalty program Fuelperks!, an improved stocking system and a significant focus on improving the customer experience.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores said Monday that its fourth-quarter net income fell 48% amid tough competition. The chain attributed the drop to the quarter being a week shorter this year than it was last year.

Winn-Dixie's net income for the quarter that ended June 29 was $7.3 million versus $14 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue fell 4% to $1.62 billion from $1.68 billion last year. Same-store sales rose 3.2%. Although average amount customers spent per visit rose 3.9%, 0.7% fewer shoppers came in, the company said.