Finance & Capital Management

A lawsuit dating back to 2008 has ended in a federal jury handing down a $55 million verdict against Walmart, and opening up the retailer to penalties.   The jury found that Walmart failed to pay about 850 of its truck drivers in California all of the compensation to which they were entitled, Reuters reported.   

HSN, Inc. has appointed Rod Little as CFO, effective January 3, 2017.   Most recently, Little served as executive VP and CFO of Elizabeth Arden, where he led the company’s global finance and IT organizations and was instrumental in a turnaround that restored revenue growth and profitability, ultimately resulting in the company’s sale to Revlon.  Prior to that, Little was CFO for Procter & Gamble’s multi-billion dollar global salon professional division.   

Bed Bath & Beyond hopes its newest acquisition will help it “get personal” with its shoppers.  

Retailers finally have their reprieve. Late yesterday afternoon, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide injunction blocking the enforcement of the FLSA overtime rule. Employers are no longer required to meet the Dec. 1 deadline.  

A federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking an Obama administration rule that would have allowed more employees to qualify for overtime pay by raising the salary limit to $47,476 from $23,660. The new regulations were set to take effect on Dec. 1.   The Labor Department said it “strongly disagreed” with the decision and was “considering all of our legal options.”        

Urban Outfitters posted sales and earnings for its third quarter that failed to meet analysts expectation amid a traffic slowdown and increased promotions at its Anthropologie and Free People stores.   Urban Outfitters earned $47 million, or 40 cents a share, in the third quarter ended Oct. 31, compared with $52 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period.   Sales rose 5% to $862 million, compared with $825 million a year ago. Same-store sales, which include online, rose 1%.  

J. Crew Group narrowed its loss in the third quarter even as its two-year sales slump continued amid a “difficult traffic environment.”     The retailer posted a net loss of $7.9 million in the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared to a loss of $759.7 million in the year-ago period. (J. Crew booked $845.9 million in impairment losses in the year-earlier period.)   Total revenue decreased 4. 2% to $593.2 million. Same-store sales fell almost 8%.  

The National Retail Federation welcomed a judge’s ruling late Tuesday that will prevent the Labor Department’s changes to federal overtime rules from taking effect as scheduled on Dec. 1.   U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by NRF, attorneys general from 21 states and dozens of business groups arguing that the changes are unlawful. The ruling effectively pauses implementation of the rules until the courts reach a final decision on their legality.  

A deluxe men's grooming concept has big plans for expansion through franchising.   The Gents Place plans to open 150 franchised locations over the next five years, in such markets as Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia. Currently, the company is aggressively targeting Florida, with plans for 18 locations throughout the state.   

As the holidays approach, this group of retailers is feeling very confident about its financial health.        Eighty-percent of middle-market retailers (revenue between $5 million and $2.9 billion) rated their overall financial condition as healthy or very healthy in the 8th annual CIT Retail Outlook. Sixty-percent expect an increase in total sales of more than 5% for the 2016 holiday season, compared to only 33% three years ago.