Finance & Capital Management

The biggest retail deal of 2017 has moved one step closer to completion.    Shareholders of Whole Foods Market on Wednesday voted to approve the natural grocer's $13.7 billion acquisition by Amazon. The vote, which took place at Whole Foods' headquarters in Austin, Texas, was expected.   

Fashion retailer Express topped analysts' second quarter sales and earnings estimates amid surging e-commerce growth.   Express had a net loss of $11.8 million, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to net income of $10.1 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 1 cent, better than the consensus for a loss of 1 cent.   

It was another disappointing quarter for Lowe’s Cos., which on Wednesday reported lower-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue and gave notice of slower growth in profit margin for the second half.    The home improvement company reported that its revenue rose 6.8% to $19.5 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 4, which was short of estimates. Same-store sales rose 4.5%, exceeding Street forecasts.   

Target Corp. has tapped a McKinsey & Company veteran to head up its innovation efforts.    The retailer appointed Minsok Pak as executive VP, chief strategy and innovation officer. He replaces Casey Carl, who left the company in May.   

In a move that reflects the increased prominence of digital in traditional retail operations, Macy's has hired a senior eBay executive as president of its namesake brand.    Hal Lawton has been named president of Macy’s, effective Sept. 8, 2017. He will be responsible for all aspects of the Macy’s brand, including merchandising, marketing, stores, operations, technology, and consumer insights and analytics. Lawton will report to CEO Jeff Gennette, who previously held the role before becoming chief executive in March. 

Macy's is streamlining its merchandising operations, expanding its exclusive products and putting increased emphasis on customer insights and data analytics as new CEO Jeff Gennette begins to make his mark on the ailing department store giant.       

There are some major changes going on at Kohl's stores.   The department store retailer announced plans to make nearly half its locations "operationally smaller through balancing inventory and adjusting fixtures" by the end of 2017. To date, the new interior layouts have been rolled out in 300 Kohl's locations.   

Simon Property Group has agreed to a settlement with the office of New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that will have it loosening its stranglehold on the outlet business in Metropolitan New York.   Schneiderman maintained that Simon’s Woodbury Common outlet center in the Hudson River Valley owned a virtual monopoly in the region — including New York City — by virtue of a clause in tenant leases that forbid the opening other outlet stores within a 60-mile radius.   

Build-A-Bear Workshop is holding steady.   The specialty retailer's board of directors has completed its review of strategic alternatives and authorized a share repurchase program of up to $20 million. Build-A-Bear initiated the review in May 2016 after a sharp decline in net income in its first quarter, saying at the time that it would consider "all" options to boost shareholder equity, including a sale.     

Discount footwear retailer DSW topped analysts’ predictions for the second quarter fueled by an unexpected increase in same-store sales.   Net income was $28.6 million, or 35 cents a share, in the quarter that ended July 29, compared with $25 million, or 30 cents a share, in second quarter 2016.   Sales rose 3.3% to $680.4 million. Same-store sales edged up 0.6%, the first positive comp quarter since 2015. Analysts had expected same-store sales to fall 2%.